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AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010

Tutorials

April 2008
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Contents

Chapter 1 Welcome to the AutoCAD Civil 3D Tutorials . . . . . . . . . . . . 1


Getting More Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Setting Up the Workspace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Saving Your Tutorial Drawings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Chapter 2 Getting Started Tutorials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5


Tutorial: Understanding the AutoCAD Civil 3D User Interface . . . . . . 5
Exercise 1: Finding Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Exercise 2: Understanding the Toolspace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Exercise 3: Using the Panorama Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Tutorial: Using Basic Functionality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Tutorial: Viewing AutoCAD Civil 3D Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Exercise 1: Setting Up the Drawing Window . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Exercise 2: Changing the Display of an Object . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Exercise 3: Viewing a Drawing in Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Chapter 3 Points Tutorials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25


Tutorial: Creating Point Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Exercise 1: Creating Description Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Exercise 2: Creating Point Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Exercise 3: Importing Points from a Database . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Tutorial: Displaying and Editing Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Exercise 1: Displaying an Externally Referenced Drawing . . . . . 31

iii
Exercise 2: Changing the Style of a Point Group . . . . . . . . . . 32
Exercise 3: Changing Point Group Display Order . . . . . . . . . 33
Exercise 4: Removing an Externally Referenced Drawing . . . . . 34
Exercise 5: Editing Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Tutorial: Adding User-Defined Properties to Points . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Exercise 1: Creating User-Defined Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Exercise 2: Creating a Label Style That Displays a User-Defined
Property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Exercise 3: Assigning User-Defined Properties to Points . . . . . . 41
Exercise 4: Importing Points with User-Defined Properties . . . . 42
Exercise 5: Querying User-Defined Property Information . . . . . 44

Chapter 4 Surfaces Tutorials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47


Tutorial: Creating and Adding Data to a Surface . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Exercise 1: Creating a TIN Surface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Exercise 2: Adding Contour Data to a Surface . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Exercise 3: Adding Breaklines to a Surface . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Exercise 4: Adding an Outer Boundary to a Surface . . . . . . . . 59
Tutorial: Working with Large Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Exercise 1: Limiting Imported Surface Data . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Exercise 2: Simplifying a Surface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Tutorial: Changing the Surface Style and Display . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Exercise 1: Editing the Surface Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Exercise 2: Using a Different Style for a Surface . . . . . . . . . . 72
Exercise 3: Labeling a Surface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Tutorial: Editing Surface Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Exercise 1: Swapping TIN Edges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Exercise 2: Deleting TIN Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Exercise 3: Adding a Hide Boundary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Exercise 4: Smoothing a Surface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Tutorial: Creating a Watershed and Water Drop Analysis . . . . . . . . 85
Exercise 1: Configuring a Style for Watershed Display . . . . . . . 86
Exercise 2: Generating a Watershed Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Exercise 3: Creating a Watershed Legend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Exercise 4: Extracting Objects from a Surface . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Exercise 5: Analyzing Surface Water Runoff . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Tutorial: Generating Surface Volume Information . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Exercise 1: Creating the Base and Comparison Surfaces . . . . . . 95
Exercise 2: Creating a TIN Volume Surface . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Exercise 3: Creating a Composite Volume Calculation . . . . . . . 99
Tutorial: Visualizing Surface Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Exercise 1: Moving Multi-View Blocks to a Surface . . . . . . . . 100
Exercise 2: Rendering a Surface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Tutorial: Obtaining an Aerial Image and Draping It on a Surface . . . . 105
Exercise 1: Publishing Surface Data to Google Earth . . . . . . . 106
Exercise 2: Importing a Google Earth Image . . . . . . . . . . . 110

iv | Contents
Exercise 3: Draping an Image on a Surface . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Chapter 5 Survey Tutorials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117


Tutorial: Survey Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Exercise 1: Creating a Survey Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Exercise 2: Setting the Equipment and Figure Prefix
Databases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Exercise 3: Adjusting and Verifying Settings . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Exercise 4: Setting Survey Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Exercise 5: Setting Up a Linework Code Set . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Tutorial: Importing Survey Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Exercise 1: Importing Field-Coded Survey Data . . . . . . . . . . 124
Exercise 2: Updating Imported Survey Data . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Tutorial: Viewing and Editing Survey Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Exercise 1: Viewing Survey Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Exercise 2: Editing a Figure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Tutorial: Analyzing and Reducing Survey Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Exercise 1: Querying Survey Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Exercise 2: Performing Traverse Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Exercise 3: Performing Least Squares Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Exercise 4: Translating a Survey Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Tutorial: Manually Creating Survey Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Exercise 1: Creating Survey Data Using the Toolspace Survey
Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Exercise 2: Creating Survey Data Using the Traverse Editor . . . . 148
Exercise 3: Creating Survey Data Using the Survey Command
Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Exercise 4: Calculating an Azimuth in The Astronomic Direction
Calculator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Exercise 5: Creating Figures from Parcels . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Tutorial: Outputting Survey Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Exercise 1: Viewing Inverse and Mapcheck Information on a
Survey Figure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Exercise 2: Performing a Mapcheck Analysis with Parcel
Labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Exercise 3: Performing a Mapcheck Analysis by Manually
Entering Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Exercise 4: Working with Mapcheck Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Exercise 5: Creating Surface Breaklines from Figures . . . . . . . 169

Chapter 6 Project Management Tutorials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171


Tutorial: Using Data Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Exercise 1: Setting Up a Data Shortcut Folder . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Exercise 2: Creating Data Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
Exercise 3: Referencing Data Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176

Contents | v
Tutorial: Vault Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Exercise 1: Logging In to Autodesk Vault . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Exercise 2: Creating User Accounts and Groups . . . . . . . . . . 185
Exercise 3: Creating a Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Tutorial: Creating, Referencing, and Modifying Project Object
Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Exercise 1: Adding a Drawing to the Project . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Exercise 2: Creating a Reference to a Project Object . . . . . . . 190
Exercise 3: Checking Out and Modifying a Project Object . . . . 192
Exercise 4: Checking In a Project Object . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Exercise 5: Updating a Project Object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Tutorial: Creating and Modifying Project Point Data . . . . . . . . . . 195
Exercise 1: Adding Points to a Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Exercise 2: Checking Out and Modifying Project Points . . . . . 197
Exercise 3: Checking In Project Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Tutorial: Exporting and Importing Vault Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Exercise 1: Exporting a Vault Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Exercise 2: Importing a Data Shortcut Project into Vault . . . . . 200

Chapter 7 Alignments Tutorials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201


Tutorial: Creating Alignments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Exercise 1: Creating an Alignment from a Polyline . . . . . . . . 202
Exercise 2: Creating an Alignment with the Alignment Layout
Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
Exercise 3: Adding Free Curves and Spirals to an
Alignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
Exercise 4: Adding Floating Curves to an Alignment . . . . . . . 209
Tutorial: Editing Alignments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Exercise 1: Editing the Layout Parameter Values of an
Alignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
Exercise 2: Grip Editing an Alignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
Exercise 3: Applying a Mask to an Alignment . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Tutorial: Working with Offset Alignments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
Exercise 1: Creating Offset Alignments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
Exercise 2: Editing an Offset Alignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
Exercise 3: Adding a Widening to an Offset Alignment . . . . . . 230
Exercise 4: Editing an Offset Widening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
Tutorial: Designing an Alignment that Refers to Local Standards . . . 239
Exercise 1: Drawing an Alignment that Refers to Design
Criteria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
Exercise 2: Viewing and Correcting Alignment Design Criteria
Violations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
Exercise 3: Working with Design Checks . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Exercise 4: Modifying a Design Criteria File . . . . . . . . . . . . 250

vi | Contents
Chapter 8 Profiles Tutorials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
Tutorial: Designing Simple Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
Tutorial: Using Surface Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
Exercise 1: Creating and Displaying Surface Profiles with
Offsets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
Exercise 2: Changing the Profile Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
Exercise 3: Reviewing Surface Profile Characteristics . . . . . . . 263
Tutorial: Using Layout Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
Exercise 1: Creating a Layout Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
Exercise 2: Editing a Layout Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
Exercise 3: Copying a Profile and Offsetting it Vertically . . . . . 272
Tutorial: Designing a Profile that Refers to Local Standards . . . . . . 275
Exercise 1: Specifying Profile Design Criteria . . . . . . . . . . . 276
Exercise 2: Drawing a Profile that Refers to Design Criteria . . . . 277
Exercise 3: Viewing and Correcting Profile Design Criteria
Violations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
Tutorial: Displaying and Modifying Profile Views . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
Exercise 1: Editing the Profile View Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
Exercise 2: Adding Hatch Patterns Between Profiles . . . . . . . 289
Exercise 3: Projecting Objects onto a Profile View . . . . . . . . 293
Exercise 4: Splitting a Profile View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300
Exercise 5: Creating Multiple Profile Views . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
Exercise 6: Creating Stacked Profile Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
Tutorial: Working with Data Bands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309
Exercise 1: Adding Data Bands to a Profile View . . . . . . . . . 310
Exercise 2: Moving Labels in a Data Band . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
Exercise 3: Modifying a Data Band Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318

Chapter 9 Parcels Tutorials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321


Tutorial: Creating Parcels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321
Exercise 1: Creating Parcels from AutoCAD Objects . . . . . . . 321
Exercise 2: Subdividing a Parcel with a Free-Form Segment . . . . 325
Exercise 3: Subdividing a Parcel with a Slide Line . . . . . . . . . 328
Exercise 4: Subdividing a Parcel with a Swing Line . . . . . . . . 335
Exercise 5: Working with Alignments and Parcels . . . . . . . . 339
Tutorial: Editing Parcel Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341
Exercise 1: Sliding a Parcel Lot Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342
Exercise 2: Swinging One End of a Parcel Lot Line . . . . . . . . 348
Exercise 3: Editing Parcel Lot Line Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . 355
Tutorial: Displaying and Analyzing Parcels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361
Exercise 1: Changing Parcel Style Display Order . . . . . . . . . 362
Exercise 2: Exporting Parcel Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365

Chapter 10 Grading Tutorials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367

Contents | vii
Tutorial: Setting up Grading Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367
Exercise 1: Reviewing Grading Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 368
Exercise 2: Creating Grading Criteria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 368
Exercise 3: Creating Grading Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 371
Tutorial: Creating Gradings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372
Exercise 1: Creating Feature Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372
Exercise 2: Assigning Feature Line Elevations . . . . . . . . . . . 375
Exercise 3: Creating a Grading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377
Tutorial: Editing Gradings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380
Exercise 1: Editing the Grading Elevation . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380
Exercise 2: Balancing Cut and Fill Volumes . . . . . . . . . . . . 382
Exercise 3: Editing the Grading Criteria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383
Tutorial: Grading from a Complex Building Footprint . . . . . . . . . 384
Exercise 1: Simplifying a Building Footprint . . . . . . . . . . . 385
Exercise 2: Grading from a Building Footprint to a Surface . . . . 388
Exercise 3: Filling Holes in a Grading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390
Tutorial: Using Feature Lines to Modify a Grading . . . . . . . . . . . 392
Exercise 1: Smoothing Feature Line Arcs . . . . . . . . . . . . . 392
Exercise 2: Adjusting Grading Triangulation with a Feature
Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 394
Exercise 3: Working with Crossing Feature Lines . . . . . . . . . 395

Chapter 11 Corridor Assembly Tutorials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 401


Tutorial: Working with Assemblies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 401
Exercise 1: Creating an Assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 402
Exercise 2: Modifying the Subassembly Name Template . . . . . 406
Exercise 3: Managing Assemblies and Subassemblies . . . . . . . 410
Tutorial: Creating an Assembly with Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . 412
Exercise 1: Examining the Existing Corridor in Section . . . . . . 413
Exercise 2: Adding Conditional Subassemblies to a Corridor
Assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 415
Exercise 3: Adjusting Conditional Subassembly Properties . . . . 423
Exercise 4: Rebuilding the Corridor and Examining the
Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 426
Tutorial: Saving and Sharing Corridor Assemblies . . . . . . . . . . . 428
Exercise 1: Saving Assemblies to a Tool Palette . . . . . . . . . . 428
Exercise 2: Copying Assemblies to a Tool Catalog . . . . . . . . . 430
Exercise 3: Publishing a Tool Catalog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 433
Exercise 4: Installing a Tool Catalog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 434
Exercise 5: Moving Assemblies from a Tool Catalog to a Tool
Palette or Drawing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 435

Chapter 12 Corridors Tutorials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 437


Tutorial: Creating a Basic Corridor Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 437
Tutorial: Creating a Corridor with a Transition Lane . . . . . . . . . . 441

viii | Contents
Exercise 1: Creating an Assembly with a Transition Lane . . . . . 442
Exercise 2: Creating a Corridor with a Transition Lane . . . . . . 445
Tutorial: Creating a Divided Highway Corridor . . . . . . . . . . . . . 449
Exercise 1: Viewing the Superelevation Properties of an
Alignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 450
Exercise 2: Creating a Divided Highway Assembly . . . . . . . . 450
Exercise 3: Creating a Divided Highway Corridor . . . . . . . . . 455
Tutorial: Viewing and Editing Corridor Sections . . . . . . . . . . . . 456
Exercise 1: Viewing Corridor Sections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 456
Exercise 2: Editing Corridor Sections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 459
Tutorial: Viewing and Rendering a Corridor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 462
Exercise 1: Creating Corridor Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 462
Exercise 2: Creating Corridor Surface Boundaries . . . . . . . . . 465
Exercise 3: Visualizing a Corridor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 469

Chapter 13 Intersection Tutorials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 473


Tutorial: Creating Intersections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 473
Exercise 1: Creating a Peer Road Intersection . . . . . . . . . . . 474
Exercise 2: Creating a Primary Road Intersection with Turn
Lanes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 480
Exercise 3: Creating an Intersection with Existing
Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 485
Tutorial: Editing Intersections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 492
Exercise 1: Editing the Horizontal Geometry of an
Intersection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 492
Exercise 2: Editing the Vertical Geometry of an
Intersection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 501
Exercise 3: Creating and Editing a Corridor in the Intersection
Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 509

Chapter 14 Sections Tutorials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 515


Tutorial: Creating Section Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 515
Exercise 1: Creating Sample Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 516
Exercise 2: Creating Section Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 518
Tutorial: Adding Data to a Section View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 521
Exercise 1: Projecting an Object onto a Section View . . . . . . . 521
Exercise 2: Adding a Section View Grade Label . . . . . . . . . . 529
Exercise 3: Adding a Data Band to a Section View . . . . . . . . 530

Chapter 15 Material Calculation Tutorials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 533


Tutorial: Calculating Earthwork Volumes from Corridor Models . . . . 533
Exercise 1: Reviewing Quantity Takeoff Criteria and Report
Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 534
Exercise 2: Creating a Material List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 535

Contents | ix
Exercise 3: Generating a Volume Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . 537
Tutorial: Working with Mass Haul Diagrams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 538
Exercise 1: Creating a Mass Haul Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . 540
Exercise 2: Balancing Mass Haul Volumes . . . . . . . . . . . . . 542
Exercise 3: Editing the Mass Haul Line Style . . . . . . . . . . . 545
Tutorial: Calculating and Reporting Quantities . . . . . . . . . . . . . 547
Exercise 1: Loading and Navigating a Pay Item List . . . . . . . . 548
Exercise 2: Assigning Pay Item Codes to AutoCAD Objects . . . . 550
Exercise 3: Assigning Pay Item Codes to Pipe Network
Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 556
Exercise 4: Assigning Pay Item Codes to Corridors . . . . . . . . 560
Exercise 5: Working with Quantity Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . 563
Exercise 6: Working with Pay Item Formulas . . . . . . . . . . . 566
Exercise 7: Creating a Pay Item List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 569

Chapter 16 Pipe Network Tutorials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 573


Tutorial: Creating a Pipe Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 573
Exercise 1: Creating a Pipe Network from a Polyline . . . . . . . 574
Exercise 2: Creating a Pipe Network by Layout . . . . . . . . . . 579
Exercise 3: Adding Parts to a Pipe Network . . . . . . . . . . . . 581
Tutorial: Changing Pipe Network Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 583
Exercise 1: Adding Parts to the Parts List . . . . . . . . . . . . . 583
Exercise 2: Changing the Surface, Alignment, and Rules
Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 585
Exercise 3: Adding a Branch to a Pipe Network . . . . . . . . . . 586
Tutorial: Viewing and Editing Pipe Networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 589
Exercise 1: Drawing Pipe Network Parts in a Profile View . . . . . 589
Exercise 2: Adding Labels to Pipe Network Parts . . . . . . . . . 590
Exercise 3: Editing Pipe Network Parts in a Profile View . . . . . 593
Exercise 4: Overriding the Style of a Pipe Network Part in a
Profile View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 595
Exercise 5: Viewing Pipe Network Parts in a Section View . . . . 596
Exercise 6: Creating Pipe and Structure Tables . . . . . . . . . . 597

Chapter 17 Part Builder Tutorials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 601


Tutorial: Creating a Cylindrical Manhole Structure . . . . . . . . . . . 601
Exercise 1: Defining the New Part in the Structure Catalog . . . . 601
Exercise 2: Defining the Manhole Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . 603
Exercise 3: Matching Offsets and Dimensions to
Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 613
Exercise 4: Verifying the New Part . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 617
Tutorial: Creating a Drop Inlet Manhole Structure . . . . . . . . . . . 620
Exercise 1: Defining the New Part in the Structure Catalog . . . . 620
Exercise 2: Defining the Manhole Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . 622
Exercise 3: Creating Profiles and Establishing Parameters . . . . 632

x | Contents
Tutorial: Creating a Vault Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 649
Exercise 1: Defining the New Part in the Structure Catalog . . . . 650
Exercise 2: Defining the Vault Top Section Geometry . . . . . . 651
Exercise 3: Defining the Vault Box Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . 661
Exercise 4: Finalizing the Part . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 672
Exercise 5: Using the New Part . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 679

Chapter 18 Labels and Tables Tutorials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 683


Tutorial: Preparing to Annotate a Drawing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 684
Exercise 1: Attaching Drawings as Xrefs for Annotation . . . . . 684
Exercise 2: Exploring the Annotation Tools on the Ribbon . . . . 687
Tutorial: Adding and Editing Labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 688
Exercise 1: Adding Labels in Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 689
Exercise 2: Manually Labeling an Object . . . . . . . . . . . . . 696
Exercise 3: Selecting and Moving Labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . 699
Exercise 4: Working with Label Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . 705
Tutorial: Changing the Content of a Label . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 707
Exercise 1: Overriding Label Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 708
Exercise 2: Changing Label Content in the Drawing
Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 709
Tutorial: Working with Tables and Tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 711
Exercise 1: Creating a Parcel Area Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 712
Exercise 2: Converting Labels to Tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 714
Exercise 3: Renumbering Table Tags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 718
Tutorial: Working with Label Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 720
Exercise 1: Creating a Label Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 720
Exercise 2: Using a Child Label Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 724
Exercise 3: Controlling Label Appearance Using Layers . . . . . . 727
Exercise 4: Changing the Dragged State of a Label . . . . . . . . 733
Exercise 5: Changing a Label Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 737
Exercise 6: Creating a Label Style that Refers to Another
Object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 741
Tutorial: Using Expressions in Labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 745
Exercise 1: Creating an Expression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 746
Exercise 2: Inserting an Expression Into a Label Style . . . . . . . 747

Chapter 19 Plan Production Tutorials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 749


Tutorial: Using the Plan Production Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 749
Exercise 1: Configuring Viewports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 750
Exercise 2: Creating View Frames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 751
Exercise 3: Creating Sheets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 754

Tutorial Folder Locations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 759

Contents | xi
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 761

xii | Contents
Welcome to the AutoCAD
Civil 3D Tutorials 1
The following tutorial sets are included with AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010:

■ Getting Started Tutorials (page 5). Learn about the application workspace and some
important design tools and tasks.
■ Points Tutorials (page 25). Learn how to work with coordinate geometry (COGO) points,
which are the basis for modeling land surfaces.
■ Surfaces Tutorials (page 47). Learn the basics about creating and working with land surfaces.
■ Survey Tutorials (page 117). Learn the basics about importing, creating, managing, and
analyzing survey data.
■ Project Management Tutorials (page 171). Learn how to use the AutoCAD Civil 3D project
management features, including data shortcuts and Autodesk Vault.
■ Alignments Tutorials (page 201). Learn about alignments, which are the basis for modeling
roads.
■ Profiles Tutorials (page 253). Learn the basics about viewing and designing the elevation
profile of land surfaces along an alignment.
■ Parcels Tutorials (page 321). Learn the basics about creating and editing parcels as well as
working with the display of parcels.
■ Grading Tutorials (page 367). Learn how to design the finished grade for land surfaces such
as housing subdivisions and retail sites.
■ Corridor Assembly Tutorials (page 401). Learn how to build and manage assemblies, which
are cross sections that are placed incrementally along an alignment.
■ Corridors Tutorials (page 437). Learn how to create simple and complex corridor designs.
■ Intersection Tutorials (page 473). Learn how to create complex intersections that dynamically
react to changes in the model.

1
■ Sections Tutorials (page 515). Learn how to create cross sections of your corridor design,
calculate cut and fill earthwork quantities, and create mass-haul diagrams.
■ Material Calculation Tutorials (page 533). Learn how to calculate material quantities and
generate reports, including pay item reports, earthworks reports, and mass haul diagrams.
■ Pipe Network Tutorials (page 573). Learn how to create a pipe network using the specialized
layout tools.
■ Part Builder Tutorials (page 601). Learn how to design and model parts that are used in
pipe networks.
■ Labels and Tables Tutorials (page 683). Learn how to annotate AutoCAD Civil 3D objects
using labels and tables.
■ Plan Production Tutorials (page 749). Learn how to prepare your design drawings for
plotting or publishing.

Each tutorial set contains exercises that are designed to explore the various features of
AutoCAD Civil 3D.
The tutorial exercises are organized in a logical sequence, based on how you typically work
with the different types of features. However, you may complete the exercises in any order
you choose. After you begin an exercise, you should complete the steps in the order
presented. The first steps provide you with the information you need for the later steps in
that exercise.

NOTE All drawings used in these tutorials are available in the tutorial drawings folder
(page 759) and all source data files are available in the tutorial folder (page 759). If you want
to save your changes to the tutorial drawings as you work, save them to the My Civil
Tutorial Data folder (page 759) so that you do not overwrite the original tutorial drawings.

Getting More Information


The step-by-step procedures in these tutorials provide instructions for using
AutoCAD Civil 3D to complete tasks using the drawings provided.
The tutorials do not explore all of the features and commands of AutoCAD
Civil 3D, nor do the tutorials identify all of the options associated with each
feature and command. To obtain more detailed information about AutoCAD
Civil 3D features and commands, refer to the following documentation:

■ AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010 Help

■ AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010 Best Practices Guide

2 | Chapter 1 Welcome to the AutoCAD Civil 3D Tutorials


Setting Up the Workspace
Before you start the tutorials, you must set the appropriate workspace.
Workspaces are sets of commands that are grouped and organized so that you
can work in a custom, task-oriented drawing environment. When you choose
a workspace, only the ribbon tabs, toolbars, and secondary windows specified
in that workspace are shown in the interface. To access other commands not
shown in the ribbon, enter their command names on the command line.
The tutorials use the Civil 3D workspace. If you use a different workspace,
some of the commands that are described may not be visible. To avoid
confusion, it is recommended that you switch to the Civil 3D workspace before
you begin the tutorials.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Workspaces.

To set up the workspace

1 On the command line, enter WORKSPACE.

2 At the Workspace Option prompt, enter C.

3 When prompted to enter the name of the workspace, enter Civil 3D.

Saving Your Tutorial Drawings


If you want to save your changes to the tutorial drawings as you work, you
must create a folder in which to save drawing and data files before beginning
the tutorial exercises.
Before you begin the tutorials:

1 Open Windows Explorer.

2 Navigate to the Autodesk Documents folder (page 759).

3 Click File menu ➤ New ➤ Folder.

4 Change the name of the new folder to My Civil Tutorial Data.

Setting Up the Workspace | 3


4
Getting Started Tutorials
2
These tutorials will get you started with the application workspace and some important design
tools and tasks.
In AutoCAD Civil 3D, design data is organized as object collections in the Toolspace window.
In Toolspace, the Prospector tab displays the hierarchy of design objects, such as points,
surfaces, and alignments. The Settings tab displays a hierarchy of object styles, including
styles for labels and tables.
The Panorama window displays data in a horizontally oriented grid, which makes it easier to
see many columns at once. Each type of data displayed in Panorama uses a separate tab,
known as a vista, that is specific to that data type.
There are many ways to view AutoCAD Civil 3D objects, including Visual Styles, Named
Views, and the Object Viewer.

NOTE All drawings used in these tutorials are available in the tutorial drawings folder (page
759). If you want to save your work from these tutorials, save the drawings to the My Civil
Tutorial Data folder (page 759) so that you do not overwrite the original drawings.

For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic The Civil 3D User Interface.

Tutorial: Understanding the AutoCAD Civil 3D User


Interface
In this tutorial, you will examine some of the major components of the AutoCAD
Civil 3D user interface.
The AutoCAD Civil 3D user interface enhances the standard AutoCAD
environment with additional tools for creating and managing civil design
information.
Standard AutoCAD features, such as the command line and ribbon, work the
same way in AutoCAD Civil 3D as they do in AutoCAD.

5
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic The Civil 3D User
Interface.

Exercise 1: Finding Tools


In this exercise, you will learn how to locate the tools that are available for a
given task.
The drawing you use contains AutoCAD Civil 3D objects to explore. The
objects in this drawing are the site elements that you will create in the
following tutorials.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic The Civil 3D User
Interface.

Explore the basic user interface elements

1 Open drawing Intro-1_M.dwg, which is available in the tutorial drawings


folder (page 759).
This drawing contains an existing ground surface, two corridors that
intersect, a storm sewer pipe network, and property parcels.

2 Examine the elements at the top of the AutoCAD Civil 3D window. Click
the buttons as described in the following paragraphs to examine the tools
that are contained in each element.

■ Application Menu—Provides access to file-related commands,


such as open, print, export, and publish.

■ Quick Access Toolbar—Contains

frequently used commands. Click and then More Commands to


add an unlimited number of tools to the Quick Access toolbar.

NOTE You also can right-click a tool on the ribbon to send it to the Quick
Access toolbar.


InfoCenter—Enables you to search for information through key words,
display the Communication Center panel for product updates and

6 | Chapter 2 Getting Started Tutorials


announcements, display the Favorites panel to access saved topics,
and access Help.

■ Ribbon—Provides a single, compact location for commands that are


relevant to the current task. The ribbon eliminates the need to display
multiple toolbars, which reduces clutter in the application and

maximizes the drawing space. In the top row, click to successively


minimize the ribbon display.

Explore the ribbon

1 On the Home tab, on the Create Design panel, click the bar at the bottom
of the panel.

The panel expands to display additional tools. If is displayed in the


bottom bar of a ribbon panel, then additional tools are available.

2 Click the Modify and Analyze tabs.


Each of these tabs contains tools that are relevant to a category of tasks.

3 Click the Home tab.


The Home tab contains commands that are commonly used to create
AutoCAD and AutoCAD Civil 3D objects.

4 In the drawing, click one of the contour lines to select the surface.

Exercise 1: Finding Tools | 7


The TIN Surface tab is displayed on the ribbon. This is known as a
contextual tab, and it contains all the tools related to surfaces. Depending
on the type of object that is selected, different tools are displayed on the
contextual tab. The tools on all AutoCAD Civil 3D contextual tabs are
arranged in a similar series of panels:
■ Labels and Tables

■ General Tools

■ Modify

■ Analyze

■ Object Tools

■ Launch Pad

5 Press Esc.

6 Select the corridor.

8 | Chapter 2 Getting Started Tutorials


The Corridors tab is displayed on the ribbon. When an object is selected,
the appropriate object contextual tab is available on the ribbon.

7 Press Esc.
The corridor is deselected, and the Home tab is active, and the contextual
tab is removed.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Understanding the Toolspace (page


9).

Exercise 2: Understanding the Toolspace


In this exercise, you will learn how to use the AutoCAD Civil 3D Toolspace,
which provides an object-oriented view of your engineering data.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic The Toolspace
Window.
This exercise continues from Exercise 1: Finding Tools (page 6).

Exercise 2: Understanding the Toolspace | 9


Explore the Prospector tab

NOTE This tutorial uses Intro-1_M.dwg from the previous tutorial.

1 In Toolspace, click the Prospector tab.


Toolspace can be docked, but it can also float. The Prospector tab provides
you with a categorized view of all objects in the drawing.

NOTE If the Toolspace is not visible, enter ShowTS on the command line.
The command line is not case sensitive, but in this document, commands
are written in mixed case.

2 Click next to the Sites collection.


The drawing contains only one site, Site 1.

3 Expand the Site 1 collection.


Notice that the Site 1 collection includes sub-collections for the following
objects:

■ Alignments

■ Feature Lines

■ Grading Groups

■ Parcels

A site provides a logical grouping of objects that form part of the same
design project, or are otherwise related. An object can belong to only one
site.

4 Expand the Parcels collection to see the names of individual parcels


in Site 1.
Notice that the drawing includes different types of parcels, such as
Single-Family and Easement.

5 Click a parcel name.


The parcel is displayed in a preview region of the Prospector tab.

10 | Chapter 2 Getting Started Tutorials


NOTE If the preview does not work, you can activate it. First, ensure that the

item preview button at the top of the Prospector tab is pressed in. Then,
right-click the Parcels collection and click Show Preview.

6 Right-click one of the Single-Family parcels. Click Properties.


The properties of the parcel are displayed in a dialog box. Note the
detailed survey data shown on the Analysis tab. Review these properties
as you wish, but do not change anything.

7 Click the Information tab. Change the Object Style from Single-Family
to Open Space. Click OK.
Notice that the appearance of the parcel changes in the drawing, and in
the item view preview. The name of the parcel changes in the Parcels
collection on the Prospector tab. This happened because the style name
is part of the naming template that is associated with the parcel.
A distinct set of custom styles for each AutoCAD Civil 3D object type can
be saved in a drawing template. Object styles can be changed as needed
to change the display of an object.

Explore the Settings tab

1 Click the Settings tab.


The Settings tab contains a tree structure of object styles and settings for
the drawing. Like the Prospector tab, it has object collections at several
levels.

2 Expand the Settings tree by clicking next to the Intro-1_M. Expand

the Parcel ➤ Parcel Styles collection.


This collection displays the styles that are available in the current drawing.

3 Right-click the Standard parcel style. Click Edit.


The object style dialog box displays the current style attributes. Explore
the contents of the tabs to see the various attributes that can be changed
when you create a style.

4 Click Cancel.
Further exploration: Expand the Settings tree and look at several style
objects and commands. Right-click various objects to see the available
menu selections, but do not change anything.

Exercise 2: Understanding the Toolspace | 11


To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 3: Using the Panorama Window (page
12).

Exercise 3: Using the Panorama Window


In this exercise, you will learn how you can use and customize the Panorama
window.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic The Panorama
Window.
This tutorial continues from Exercise 2: Understanding the Toolspace (page
9).

Display object data in the Panorama window

NOTE This tutorial uses Intro-1_M.dwg from the previous tutorial.

1 Use the Pan and Zoom controls to locate the beginning of the
alignment and pipe network on the far right side of the site.

2 In the drawing, click the green alignment.

12 | Chapter 2 Getting Started Tutorials


3 Click Alignment tab ➤ Modify panel ➤ Geometry Editor .

4 In the Alignment Layout Tools toolbar, click .


A table called Alignment Entities is displayed in a separate window called
the Panorama. Notice that the table name appears on a tab. The main
control bar is labeled Panorama. Each table in Panorama is called a vista.
These tables are useful for editing object attributes. You can edit data in
cells that appears as black text. You cannot edit data in cells that are
shaded (unavailable). In the next few steps, you will learn to use some
of the Panorama controls.

5 If the Panorama window covers the alignment, move it by clicking the


middle part of the vertical control bar where you see the Panorama title,
and then dragging the window to a new location.

TIP To move the Panorama window, hold down the Ctrl key to prevent the
Panorama window from docking when you move it.

6 Press Esc to deselect the alignment.

7 In the drawing, click the blue structure marker.

Exercise 3: Using the Panorama Window | 13


8 Click Pipe Networks tab ➤ Modify panel ➤ Edit Pipe Network .

9 In the Network Layout Tools toolbar, click .


Two additional tables, called Structures and Pipes are displayed in the
Panorama window.

10 Click the three vista tabs in turn to switch from one table to the other.
Bring the Alignment Entities table to the front.

Rearrange the columns of a vista

1 Scroll to the right until you see the Chord Length column.

2 Click the Chord Length column heading, drag the column to the left,
and drop it to the right of the Length column.
Notice that each column heading is highlighted as the cursor passes
through it. You can rearrange the columns like this to make the table
easier to use.

3 Right-click the Radius column heading. Click Customize Columns.


The Customize Columns dialog box allows you to modify the appearance
of the columns in the current vista. You can hide unnecessary columns
by clearing the appropriate check boxes in the Visibility column, or
change the width of columns using the Width column. Clicking the New
button allows you to save a custom vista configuration for later use.

4 Click Cancel to close the Customize Columns dialog box.

Change the appearance of the Panorama window

1 On the Panorama control bar, click to temporarily close the window.

2 Without clicking, move your pointer over the Panorama control bar.
The window opens while the pointer is on the bar. It closes when you

move the pointer off the vista. This is Auto-Hide Mode, indicated by
. It is useful when you want to periodically consult a table while working
in the drawing.

3 Click to turn off Auto-Hide Mode.

14 | Chapter 2 Getting Started Tutorials


4 On the Panorama control bar, click . Click Transparency.

5 In the Transparency dialog box, move the General slider to a position in


the middle of the range. Click OK.

6 Drag the Panorama window.


When you move the cursor away from the window, notice that you can
see some drawing details through the table.

7 In Alignment Layout Tools toolbar, click .

The Pipes and Structures vistas remain open until you click in the
Network Layout Tools toolbar.

To continue to the next tutorial, go to Tutorial: Using Basic Functionality


(page 15).

Tutorial: Using Basic Functionality


In this tutorial, you will learn how to navigate around AutoCAD Civil 3D and
how to use some common features of the interface.

Panning and Zooming


You can use the zoom and pan commands to change the viewing scale of the
drawing or move to a different area of the open drawing. This exercise
demonstrates using the shortcut menu to pan and zoom. The pan and zoom
commands also are available on the Home tab ➤ View panel.

Use shortcut menus to pan and zoom

1 Open Intro-2.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759).

2 Right-click the XGND surface name in the Prospector tree. Click Zoom
To.

3 In the drawing, right-click and click Zoom. Click and drag upwards to
zoom in closer to the surface.

4 To stop zooming and use the normal pointer, right-click and click Exit.

5 With no objects selected in the drawing, right-click in the drawing and


click Pan.

Tutorial: Using Basic Functionality | 15


6 Click and drag in any direction to move around the drawing.

7 To stop panning and use the normal pointer, right-click and click Exit.

Selecting and Deselecting


There are several ways to select objects in AutoCAD Civil 3D:

■ To select an object, click it in the drawing window.

■ To select an individual object that is part of a group of objects, press and


hold Ctrl while clicking the object.

■ To select several objects by enclosing them within a rectangular area, drag


your cursor from left to right. A rectangle with a solid line appears. Only
objects that are enclosed in the rectangular area are selected.

■ To select several objects by crossing over them with a rectangular area,


drag your cursor from right to left. A rectangle with a dashed line appears.
Any objects that the dashed line crosses over are selected.

If you select the wrong object, press Esc to deselect it.


Experiment with the selection methods using the objects in drawing
Intro-2.dwg.

Object Snapping
This standard AutoCAD feature is useful for precision drafting, when you want
the line you are drawing to snap to entity edges or specific points. In these
tutorials, you may prefer to use a freehand mode for drawing and editing
objects, such as horizontal alignments and layout profiles.
Object snaps, also known as OSNAPs, can be used in either of two ways:

■ Individual, or single-point OSNAPs— To snap to a specific type of point,


hold the Shift key down and right-click. Select an object snap from the
shortcut menu. The object snap stays in effect only for the next point that
you click.

■ Multiple, or running OSNAPs—You can toggle Object Snap on and off by

clicking on the status bar at the bottom of the main application


window, or by pressing F3 or Ctrl+F. Object Snap is off when the button
is in a raised position.

16 | Chapter 2 Getting Started Tutorials


Experiment with OSNAPs

1 Press F1 to open AutoCAD Civil 3D Help.

2 In the left pane, click Search.

3 In the Type In The Word(s) To Search For field, enter Osnap.

4 In the Select A Section To Search list, select All Documentation.

5 Click Search. Select from the topics that are displayed.

In most cases, it is recommended that you also turn off other cursor controls
on the status bar, such as Snap, Grid, and Ortho. The Model button, however,
should remain on.

Dynamic Input
Dynamic input is an AutoCAD feature that displays prompts from the
command line beside the cursor. Dynamic input provides a place for you to
enter values when a command is active. For these tutorials, you may want to

toggle off the dynamic input feature. To turn dynamic input off, click on
the status bar at the bottom of the main application window, or press F12.
For more information about dynamic input, see AutoCAD Help.
To continue to the next tutorial, go to Viewing AutoCAD Civil 3D Objects
(page 17).

Tutorial: Viewing AutoCAD Civil 3D Objects


This tutorial demonstrates several ways to display objects in plan and model
views.
There are a variety of ways to view AutoCAD Civil 3D objects. In this tutorial,
you will learn how to use some of the most common methods, including
viewports, named views, display representations, 3D views, and visual styles.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Help topic Use 3D Viewing Tools.

Exercise 1: Setting Up the Drawing Window


In this exercise, you will configure the drawing window, using named views
and viewports.

Tutorial: Viewing AutoCAD Civil 3D Objects | 17


For more information, see the AutoCAD Help topics Save and Restore Views
and Display Multiple Views in Model Space.

Divide the drawing area into separate viewports

1 Open Intro-2.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759).
This drawing contains an existing ground surface, several alignments,
and several profile views that contain existing ground and layout profiles.

2 Click View tab ➤ Viewports panel ➤ Viewport Configurations


List ➤ Two: Vertical.
Two viewports are displayed. Each viewport is a separate window in which
you can pan and zoom to different views of the drawing. You can create
custom viewport configurations and save them for later use.

3 Click in each of the viewports.


Notice that as you click in a viewport, the border darkens to indicate
which viewport is currently active. Click the viewport on the right side
to make it active.

4 On the command line, enter ZE.


The surface and profile views are displayed in the right viewport.

Apply a saved drawing view

1 Click the viewport on the left side to make it active.

2 Click View tab ➤ Views panel ➤ Surface Extents.


The extents of the EG surface appears in the left viewport.

18 | Chapter 2 Getting Started Tutorials


Three views have been created in this drawing. Each named view consists
of a specific magnification, position, orientation, and layer status. Named
views are saved with a drawing and can be used any time. When your
drawing is displaying a specific view to which you want to return, you
can save it as a named view by clicking View tab ➤ Views panel ➤ Named
Views

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Changing the Display of an Object


(page 19).

Exercise 2: Changing the Display of an Object


In this tutorial, you will change the appearance of a surface by changing its
style. You will examine the style settings that affect how an object is
represented in plan, profile, and model views.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Object Styles.
This exercise continues from Exercise 1: Setting Up the Drawing Window
(page 17).

Modify the display of a surface

NOTE This tutorial uses Intro-2.dwg from the previous tutorial.

1 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, expand the tree under the drawing
name. Expand the Surfaces collection to see the surface name XGND.

2 Right-click the surface, XGND, and click Surface Properties.

Exercise 2: Changing the Display of an Object | 19


3 In the Surface Properties dialog box, on the Information tab, under Surface
Style, select a different style, such as Border & Elevations.

4 Click Apply.
The appearance of the surface now reflects the settings of the style you
selected.

5 To show a different view of the surface, repeat steps 2 through 4, selecting


a different style.

6 After you have explored other styles, set the original style, Visualization.
Click Apply. Leave the Surface Properties dialog box open.

Examine the object style settings

1 In the Surface Properties dialog box, on the Information tab, in the Default
Styles area, notice the Render Material list.
This list indicates the material that is applied to the surface object. When
the surface is rendered in model view, the surface will be displayed using
this material.

2 Click Cancel.

3 In the right viewport, zoom in to one of the profile grids. Select the blue,
layout profile line. Right-click. Click Profile Properties.

4 In the Profile Properties dialog box, on the Information tab, in the Object

Style area, click .

5 In the Profile Style dialog box, click the Display tab. In the View Direction
list, make sure that Profile is selected.
The table identifies how the profile components are displayed in a profile
view. The basic appearance of the individual object components is
controlled on this tab. Components that have in the Visibility column
are visible when the profile is displayed in a profile view. The Layer, Color,
Linetype, LT Scale, and Lineweight of the components are controlled on
this table. In the drawing window, notice that the layout profile line is
blue, as identified in the Color column.
Other AutoCAD Civil 3D object styles use the same basic structure to
control display components. Most other objects, such as alignments,
have a Plan view direction in place of the Profile view direction. The Plan
view direction identifies how the object components are displayed in
plan view.

20 | Chapter 2 Getting Started Tutorials


6 In the View Direction list, select Model.
In the table, notice that the Layer and Color settings are different from
the Profile view direction. When the layout profile line is viewed in model,
it uses the display settings listed in this table.

NOTE In the View Direction list, notice that a Section selection is available.
This View Direction specifies how the surface will be displayed when it is
viewed as part of a corridor section. You will learn about viewing and editing
corridor sections in the Viewing and Editing Corridor Sections tutorial (page
456).

7 Click Cancel to close the Profile Style and Profile Properties dialog boxes.

8 Press Esc to deselect the layout profile.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 3: Viewing a Drawing in Model (page


21).

Exercise 3: Viewing a Drawing in Model


In this exercise, you will learn some ways to view drawing objects in
three-dimensional views.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Help topic Use 3D Viewing Tools.
This exercise continues from Exercise 2: Changing the Display of an Object
(page 19).

Examine object display in model views

NOTE This tutorial uses Intro-2.dwg from the previous tutorial.

1 Click the left viewport to make it active.

2 Click View panel ➤ Views panel ➤ views list ➤ SE Isometric.


A Southeast isometric view of the surface is displayed in the left viewport,
and the right viewport stays in plan view.

3 Zoom in to the isometric view of the surface.


Notice the green and blue lines. The green lines are the layout profiles
that you examined in profile view. They are green because the Model
view direction in its style indicated that they will display as green. The

Exercise 3: Viewing a Drawing in Model | 21


blue lines under the surface are the horizontal alignments from which
the profiles were created.

Change the visual style of the surface

1 Click View panel ➤ Views panel ➤ ➤ Visual Styles drop-down ➤ 3D


Wireframe.
AutoCAD visual styles give a fast, basic visualization of an object that is
useful for on-screen presentation in AutoCAD Civil 3D. The 3D Wireframe
visual style displays the surface in model view without applying a fill
material to the object.

22 | Chapter 2 Getting Started Tutorials


Notice that a cube is displayed in the upper right-hand corner. This is
the AutoCAD ViewCube, which provides visual feedback of the current
orientation of a model. You can use the ViewCube to adjust the viewpoint
of the model when a visual style has been applied.

2 Click a corner of the ViewCube, and drag it to a new position. Experiment


with dragging the ViewCube to various positions. When you are finished,

click to return the model and ViewCube to their original positions.

3 Click View panel ➤ Views panel ➤ ➤ Visual Styles drop-down ➤


Conceptual.
The Conceptual visual style shades the object and smooths the edges
between polygon faces. The shading in this style uses the Gooch face
style, a transition between cool and warm colors rather than dark to light.
The effect is not realistic, but it can make the details of the model easy
to see.

Exercise 3: Viewing a Drawing in Model | 23


4 Click View panel ➤ Views panel ➤ ➤ Visual Styles drop-down ➤
Realistic.
The Realistic visual style shades the surface and smooths the edges
between polygon faces. The render material that is specified in the surface
style is displayed.

24 | Chapter 2 Getting Started Tutorials


Points Tutorials
3
These tutorials will get you started working with coordinate geometry (COGO) points, which
are the basis for modeling land surfaces. These tutorials demonstrate how to import survey
points into a drawing from a database, and how to classify a large set of points into more
manageable groups.
Before you import a large set of points, it is a good idea to structure your drawing environment
so that as the points are created, they are sorted into meaningful groups, with appropriate
styles and other attributes.

NOTE All drawings used in these tutorials are available in the tutorial drawings folder (page
759). If you want to save your work from these tutorials, save the drawings to the My Civil
Tutorial Data folder (page 759) so that you do not overwrite the original drawings.

For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Understanding Points.

Tutorial: Creating Point Data


This tutorial demonstrates several useful setup tasks for organizing a large set
of points.
In this tutorial, you will learn about managing a set of points related to
stormwater manholes and detention ponds. You will create description keys
and point groups to sort the points as they are imported into a drawing. Then,
you will import the points from an existing file.
Description keys can help you automate many point-handling tasks at the time
that points are created or imported. A description key uses the raw description
code of a point to determine how to process the point. For example, you can
configure a description key to apply different styles or place points on different
drawing layers.
You can classify a set of points into several point groups, based on the type of
point, elevation, date of creation, source, or other criteria. Then you can run

25
various queries or operations for point display against a point group, rather
than the whole set.
Points can be imported from a text file or a Microsoft Access database. Data
created in Autodesk Land Desktop can be migrated to AutoCAD Civil 3D by
importing points directly from a project database.
You can create a large point set and organize it later. However, it is usually
more efficient to classify points into several groups as they are being created.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Creating Points.

Exercise 1: Creating Description Keys


In this exercise, you will create description keys to sort the points as they are
imported into a drawing.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Description Keys.

Create a description key set

1 Open Points-1.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759).

2 In Toolspace, on the Settings tab, expand the Point collection.

3 Right-click Description Key Sets. Click New.

4 In the Description Key Set dialog box, Name field, enter Stormwater Keys.

5 In the Description field, enter Stormwater manhole and pond points.

6 Click OK.
The new description key set is created.

Create description keys

1 In Toolspace, on the Settings tab, expand the Description Key Sets


collection. Right-click Stormwater Keys. Click Edit Keys. The DescKey
Editor vista is displayed in the Panorama window.
In the DescKey Editor, you will enter the raw description codes, and
specify how AutoCAD Civil 3D handles new points that have these codes.
All entries in the Code column of the DescKey Editor are case sensitive.

2 In DescKey Editor, in the Code column, click the default entry. Change
it to POND*.

26 | Chapter 3 Points Tutorials


The asterisk is a wild-card character. The asterisk causes any imported
point with a description code that begins with POND, followed by any
other characters, to be handled according to the settings in this table
row.

3 In both the Style and Point Label Style columns, clear the check box to
deactivate these settings.
Clearing these settings allows you to control these settings by using point
group properties.

NOTE The Format column contains the entry $*, which specifies that a point’s
raw description is copied without changes and used for the full description
in the point label. This is an acceptable setting for the POND points.

4 In the Layer column, select the check box. Click the cell to open the Layer
Selection dialog box.

5 In the Layer Selection dialog box, select V-NODE-STRM. Click OK.


This setting means that the POND points reference the V-NODE-STRM
layer for their display attributes. In the next few steps, you create another
description key.

6 In the Code column, right-click the POND* entry. Click New.

7 In the new description key, click the default Code entry and change it
to MHST*.

8 Set the same styles and layer as you did for POND* by repeating Steps 3
through 5.

9 In the Format column, enter STORM MH.


This setting ensures that points with a raw description of MHST*
(stormwater manholes) are labeled in the drawing as STORM MH.

10 Click to save the description keys and close the editor.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Creating Point Groups (page 27).

Exercise 2: Creating Point Groups


In this exercise, you will create point groups to sort the points as they are
imported into a drawing.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Point Groups.

Exercise 2: Creating Point Groups | 27


This exercise continues from Exercise 1: Creating Description Keys (page 26).

Create point groups

NOTE This exercise uses Points-1.dwg with the modifications you made in the
previous exercise.

1 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, right-click the Point Groups


collection. Click New.

2 In the Point Group Properties dialog box, on the Information tab, in the
Name field, enter Detention Pond. Optionally, enter a short description
in the Description field.

3 On the Raw Desc Matching tab, select POND*. Click Apply.


This option specifies that all points with the POND* raw description are
added to the Detention Pond point group.
Notice how the description key setting is recorded on both the Include
and Query Builder tabs. If you know SQL, you can see how you could
add more criteria to the Query Builder tab to select a more specific set of
points for the point group.

4 Click OK.

5 Create another point group by repeating Steps 1 through 4, but use the
following parameters:
Name: Storm Manholes
Raw Desc Matching: MHST*
Your drawing should now contain the same description keys and point
groups shown in sample drawing Points-1a.dwg.

Change the point group label style

1 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, expand the Point Groups collection.

2 Right-click the _All Points collection. Click Properties.

3 In the Point Group Properties dialog box, on the Information tab, change
the Point Label Style to Standard.

4 Click OK to close the Point Group Properties dialog box.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 3: Importing Points from a Database


(page 29).

28 | Chapter 3 Points Tutorials


Exercise 3: Importing Points from a Database
In this exercise, you will import points from a database to a drawing that uses
description keys to sort points into groups.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Importing and
Exporting Points.
This exercise continues from Exercise 2: Creating Point Groups (page 27).

Import points from a database

NOTE This exercise uses Points-1.dwg with the modifications you made in the
previous exercise, or you can open Points-1a.dwg from the tutorial drawings folder
(page 759).

1 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, right-click Points. Click Create.

2 In the Create Points dialog box, click . Expand the Default Layer
parameter, then change the value to V-NODE.

3 In the Create Points dialog box, click Import Points.

4 In the Format list, select External Project Point Database.

5 Click . Browse to the tutorial folder (page 759). Select points.mdb. Click
Open.

6 In the Import Points dialog box, clear the Advanced Options check box.

7 Click OK.
The points are imported.

8 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, right-click the _All Points point


group. Click Zoom To.
The points are displayed both in the drawing and in tabular form in the
Toolspace list view. In the drawing window, if you move the cursor over
a point, a tooltip displays basic data about the point. Notice that the two
stormwater point groups appear to be empty. This is because they have
not been updated with their new content. In the next few steps, you will
see how AutoCAD Civil 3D provides several ways to check the point data
before adding it to your drawing.

Exercise 3: Importing Points from a Database | 29


Update point groups

1 Right-click the Point Groups collection. Click Properties.


The Point Groups dialog box is displayed. Point groups are listed here
according to their display order, with the highest priority group at the
top. Arrows at the side of the dialog box allow you to change the display
order. The icon indicates that an update is pending for a point group.

2 To show the contents of the update for each point group, click . Review
the list of points that the application is prepared to add to the Storm
Manholes and Detention Pond point groups.

3 In the Point Group Changes dialog box, click Close.

4 To update the point groups, click . Click OK.


Alternatively, you can right-click the Point Groups collection and click
Update.
The point groups update. Now, you can display their points in the list
view and zoom to them in the drawing.

5 Right-click a point group. Click Edit Points.


The points are displayed in the Point Editor table. Review and change
their attributes.

NOTE For information about changing the contents and display of the
Panorama window, see the Using the Panorama Window tutorial (page 12).

To continue to the next tutorial, go to Displaying and Editing Points (page


30).

Tutorial: Displaying and Editing Points


This tutorial demonstrates how to use point groups, layers, external references,
and styles to display points. It also explains the various ways to edit points
using standard AutoCAD tools.
You can use point groups to organize points and to control their appearance
in a drawing. While points are independent objects that do not have to be
categorized into specific point groups, every point in a drawing is always part
of the _All Points point group. The point group display order determines which
point group’s properties take precedence. For example, if a point belongs to
a point group that is higher in the display order than the _All Points point

30 | Chapter 3 Points Tutorials


group, the higher group’s properties override the properties set in the _All
Points point group.
The point layer controls the display attributes of the point. To see this, open
the Point Group Properties dialog box, click the Point List tab, and look at the
Point Layer column. This column also appears in the Prospector list view when
the point group is selected. The point layer can be assigned by using a
description key. If a point layer is not assigned during creation, points are
placed on the default point layer specified in the drawing settings.
An external reference drawing (xref) is a useful way to see points in relation
to other surface features without adding these features to your drawing. You
can reference another drawing and make it appear as an underlay in your
current drawing. Then, you can detach the external drawing when you no
longer need it.
Changing the point or label style of a point group can help you distinguish
these points more easily from other points in the drawing.
Each point is an object that can be individually selected and manipulated.
Point objects have commands, property attributes, and grip behavior that are
similar to other AutoCAD entities.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Controlling the
Appearance of Points in a Drawing.

Exercise 1: Displaying an Externally Referenced Drawing


In this exercise, you will use a standard AutoCAD operation to display another
drawing of the region around your set of points.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Help topic Attach Drawing References
(Xrefs).
This exercise continues from the Creating Point Data (page 25) tutorial.

Display an externally referenced drawing

NOTE This exercise uses Points-1a.dwg with the modifications you made in the
previous tutorial, or you can open Points-2.dwg from the tutorial drawings folder
(page 759).

1 Click Insert tab ➤ Reference panel ➤ Attach.

2 In the Select Reference File dialog box, navigate to the tutorial drawings
folder (page 759) and open Existing Basemap.dwg. Select it and click Open.

Exercise 1: Displaying an Externally Referenced Drawing | 31


3 In the External Reference dialog box, specify the following parameters:
■ Reference Type: Overlay

■ Insertion Point: Cleared

■ Scale: Cleared

■ Rotation: Cleared

4 Click OK.
The basemap appears on the screen, allowing you to see the points of
interest in relation to the road design and other contextual features. This
external reference remains separate from your drawing. There is no risk
of unexpected changes to your drawing. In a later exercise, you will learn
how to detach the external reference.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Changing the Style of a Point Group


(page 32).

Exercise 2: Changing the Style of a Point Group


In this exercise, you will change the style of a point group. Point styles can
help you distinguish the points more easily from other points in the drawing.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Changing the
Properties of a Point Group.
This exercise continues from Exercise 1: Displaying an Externally Referenced
Drawing (page 31).

Change the style of a point group

NOTE This exercise uses Points-2.dwg and Existing Basemap.dwg with the
modifications you made in the previous exercise.

1 Zoom in to the upper left area of the screen where you can clearly see
the labels for several POND points and one or more STORM MH points.
Notice that both types of points use the same marker style (X).

2 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, right-click the point group _All


Points. Click Properties.

3 In the Point Group Properties dialog box, on the Information tab, change
the Point Label Style to <none>.

32 | Chapter 3 Points Tutorials


4 Click OK.
Labels for all points that do not have a label style set in another point
group are hidden. The point markers are still visible because markers are
controlled by the point style, which you did not change.

5 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, right-click the point group Storm


Manholes. Click Properties.

6 In the Point Group Properties dialog box, on the Information tab, change
the Point Style to Storm Sewer Manhole.

7 Click OK.
The stormwater manhole points are now marked with the symbol defined
in the Storm Sewer Manhole point style.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 3: Changing Point Group Display


Order (page 33).

Exercise 3: Changing Point Group Display Order


In this exercise, you will use the point group display order to change the
appearance of points.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Changing the Point
Group Display Order.

Change the point group display order

NOTE This exercise uses Points-2.dwg and Existing Basemap.dwg with the
modifications you made in the previous exercise.

1 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, expand the Point Groups collection.


Notice the order of the point groups in the Prospector tree. The point
group display order determines how points that belong to more than one
point group are displayed in a drawing. When a drawing is opened or
regenerated, AutoCAD Civil 3D searches down the point group display
order to determine how the point will appear.
For example, if a point belongs to all three groups, AutoCAD Civil 3D
will first look in the Storm Manholes point to determine if a point label
style has been assigned to that point group. If it has not, AutoCAD Civil
3D will look in the Detention Pond point group, and then the _All Points
group until the point label style setting is found.

Exercise 3: Changing Point Group Display Order | 33


2 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, right-click the Point Groups
collection. Click Properties.

3 In the Point Groups dialog box, select the Storm Manholes point group.

4 Click twice to move the Storm Manholes point group to the bottom
of the display order.

5 Click OK.
Notice that the point style for the STORM MH points has changed to an
X, and the label has disappeared. This happened because when the Storm
Manholes point group was placed below the _All Points point group, the
_All Points point group’s point style and point label style settings took
precedence over those of the Storm Manholes point group.

6 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, right-click the _All Points point


group. Click Properties.

7 In the Point Group Properties dialog box, on the Overrides tab, select the
Point Label Style box. Click OK.
This option ensures that the Point Label Style setting of the point group
overrides the Point Label Style setting of the individual points included
in the point group.

8 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, right-click the Point Groups


collection. Click Properties.

9 In the Point Groups dialog box, select the _All Points point group. Click

to move the _All Points point group to the top of the display order.

10 Click OK.
Notice that all point labels in the drawing are hidden. This happened
because the _All Points point group’s point label style set to <none>, and
you placed the _All Points point group at the top of the display order.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 4: Removing an Externally Referenced


Drawing (page 34).

Exercise 4: Removing an Externally Referenced Drawing


In this exercise, you will remove the externally referenced drawing that you
added previously.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Help topic Detach Referenced Drawings.

34 | Chapter 3 Points Tutorials


This exercise continues from Exercise 3: Changing Point Group Display Order
(page 33).

Remove an externally referenced drawing

NOTE This exercise uses Points-2.dwg and Existing Basemap.dwg with the
modifications you made in the previous exercise.

1 Click any entity in Existing Basemap.dwg to select the whole drawing.

2 Right-click, and click Xref Manager.

3 In the External References dialog box, right-click the reference name


Existing Basemap. Click Detach.
The reference drawing disappears from view.

4 Close the External References dialog box.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 5: Editing Points (page 35).

Exercise 5: Editing Points


In this exercise, you will use standard AutoCAD commands to move and rotate
point objects to improve their position in the drawing.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Editing Points.

Change the point style

NOTE This exercise uses Points-3.dwg, which is similar to the drawing you used
in the other exercises in the Displaying and Editing Points (page 30) tutorial.

1 Open Points-3.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759).

2 Locate point 992 near the right side of the drawing.


Notice that the label for point 992 is obscured by the hatching. In the
next few steps, you will change the point marker style. You will rotate
the point marker so that it is parallel with the nearby road, and then
move the label to a more readable location.

3 Select point 992. Right-click. Click Properties. The AutoCAD Properties


palette displays the properties of individual points.

4 Under Information, select Catch Basin in the Point Style property.

Exercise 5: Editing Points | 35


Rotate the point

1 In the drawing window, click the grip. The grip turns red.
This is the point rotation grip, which rotates the point marker around
the center point.

TIP To rotate a group of points, use the AutoCAD ROTATE command.

2 Rotate the point clockwise until the point marker is parallel to the edge
of the road, then click to position the point.
The point marker now matches the angle of the road, but the label is still
obscured by the hatching. You will correct this in the following steps.

Drag the point label

1 Examine the grip that is offset from the center of the point.

2 This is the drag label grip. Click the grip above the drag label grip.

This toggles the display of the drag label grip. Three grips are available.
These grips can be used to drag each line in the point label independently.

3 Click the grip to return the drag label grip to its original state.

4 Click the drag label grip.

5 Drag the label down and to the left, until it is in an unobstructed area.
Click to place the label in its new orientation.

To continue to the next tutorial, go to Adding User-Defined Properties to


Points (page 36).

Tutorial: Adding User-Defined Properties to


Points
This tutorial demonstrates how to add custom properties to points.
A user-defined property can be any useful attribute, such as latitude and
longitude, date of acquisition, or source. To create user-defined properties,
you first create a property classification, which is a container for one or more
related properties.

36 | Chapter 3 Points Tutorials


You assign classifications and their associated properties to the points in your
drawing using point groups. After you have added the user-defined properties
to a point group, you can add values for each property either by editing the
properties of individual points or by importing values from an external point
file.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic User-Defined
Property Classifications.

Exercise 1: Creating User-Defined Properties


In this exercise, you will learn how to create a user-defined property
classification and add items to it.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic User-Defined
Property Classifications.

Create a user-defined property classification

1 Open Points-4a.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759).
The drawing is similar to the ones you used earlier in the Points tutorials,
except only the points for storm manholes and the detention pond are
visible.

2 In Toolspace, on the Settings tab, expand the Point collection. Right-click


User-Defined Property Classifications. Click New.

3 In the User-Defined Property Classification dialog box, enter Manhole


UDP.

4 Click OK.
The new classification is created and added to the list of user-defined
property classifications.

5 Repeat Steps 2 to 4 to create an additional user-defined property


classification named Trees.

Define classification properties

1 On the Settings tab, expand User-Defined Property Classifications.


Right-click Manhole UDP. Click New.

2 In the New User-Defined Property dialog box, for Name, enter MH_Pipe
In Invert.

Exercise 1: Creating User-Defined Properties | 37


3 In the Property Field Type list, select Elevation.

4 Use the default values for all other properties. Click OK.
The property is added to the list of Manhole UDP properties.

5 Repeat Steps 1 to 4 to add additional properties to the Manhole UDP


classification, using the following parameters:

NOTE The next exercise uses Points-4a.dwg, which contains all of the
properties and classifications. To save time, you can skip Steps 5 and 6 and
proceed to Exercise 2: Creating a Label Style That Displays a User-Defined
Property (page 39).

Name Property Field Type

MH_Material String

MH_Diameter Dimension

MH_Pipe In Diamet- Dimension


er

MH_Pipe In Material String

MH_Pipe Out Invert Elevation

MH_Pipe Out Dia- Dimension


meter

MH_Pipe Out Mater- String


ial

6 Repeat Steps 1 to 4 to add properties to the Trees classification using the


following parameters:
Name Property Field Type

Tree_Common String
Name

Tree_Genus String

Tree_Species String

38 | Chapter 3 Points Tutorials


Name Property Field Type

Tree_Diameter Dimension

Tree_Height Distance

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Creating a Label Style That Displays


a User-Defined Property (page 39).

Exercise 2: Creating a Label Style That Displays a


User-Defined Property
In this exercise, you will create a label style that displays user-defined property
information for a point.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Creating and
Editing Label Styles.
This exercise continues from Exercise 1: Creating User-Defined Properties
(page 37).

Create a label style that displays user-defined property information

1 Open Points-4b.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759).

2 In Toolspace, on the Settings tab, expand the Point collection. Expand


the Label Styles collection.

3 Under Label Styles, right-click Standard. Click Copy.

4 In the Label Style Composer, on the Information tab, for Name, enter
Manhole UDP.

5 On the Layout tab, in the Preview list on the upper right side of the tab,
select Point Label Style.
Now, any edits you make to the point label style will be displayed in the
preview pane.

6 Click to create a text component for the label.

7 For the new text component, specify the following parameters:


■ Name: Invert In

Exercise 2: Creating a Label Style That Displays a User-Defined Property | 39


■ Anchor Component: Point Description

■ Anchor Point: Bottom Left

■ Text Attachment: Top Left

8 Under Text, for Contents, click the default value. Click .

9 In the Text Component Editor – Label Text dialog box, on the Properties
tab, specify the following parameters:
■ Properties: MH_Pipe In Invert

■ Precision: 0.01

10 Click .

11 In the text editing window, delete the text “Label Text” from the label.
Enter Invert In: before the property field, which is enclosed in angle
brackets(<>). The text in the editor should look like this:

12 Click OK.

13 In the preview pane, your label should look like this:

14 Click OK.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 3: Assigning User-Defined Properties


to Points (page 41).

40 | Chapter 3 Points Tutorials


Exercise 3: Assigning User-Defined Properties to Points
In this exercise, you will use point groups to associate user-defined properties
with points in your drawing.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Assigning
User-Defined Properties to Point Groups.
This exercise continues from Exercise 2: Creating a Label Style That Displays
a User-Defined Property (page 39).

Assign user-defined properties to points

NOTE This exercise uses Points-4b.dwg with the modifications you made in the
previous exercise.

1 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, click Point Groups.

2 In the item view, click the Storm Manholes entry. In the Classification
column, select Manhole UDP.

Apply the user-defined property point label style

1 In the Prospector tree view, expand Point Groups. Click Storm Manholes.

2 In the item view, right-click in a column heading.

3 Clear the check mark from all items in the list, except the following:
■ Point Number

■ Point Label Style

■ MH_Pipe In Invert

■ MH_Pipe In Material

Clearing the check boxes turns off the display of columns you do not
need to see for this exercise.

4 Click the row for point 307.

5 Click the Point Label Style cell to display the Select Label Style dialog
box.

6 In the Select Label Style dialog box, select Manhole UDP as the label style.
Click OK.

7 Repeat Steps 4 to 6 to apply the Manhole UDP for point 667.

Exercise 3: Assigning User-Defined Properties to Points | 41


Specify user-defined property values

1 For point 307, click the MH_Pipe In Invert cell. Enter 93.05.

2 Right-click the row for point 307. Click Zoom To.


The value is displayed with the other point information in the drawing
window.

3 For point 667, click the MH_Pipe In Invert cell. Enter 93.00.

4 Right-click the entry for point 667. Click Zoom To.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 4: Importing Points with User-Defined


Properties (page 42).

Exercise 4: Importing Points with User-Defined


Properties
In this exercise, you will create a custom point file format, and then import
point information that includes user-defined properties from an external file.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Importing and
Exporting User-Defined Property Classifications.
This exercise continues from Exercise 3: Assigning User-Defined Properties to
Points (page 41).

Create a point file format for importing user-defined properties

1 Open Points-4c.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759).

2 In Toolspace, on the Settings tab, expand the Point collection. Right-click


Point File Formats. Click New.

3 In the Point File Formats – Select Format Type dialog box, select User
Point File. Click OK.

4 In the Point File Format dialog box, specify the following properties:
■ Format Name: Manhole Data

■ Comment Tag: #

■ Format Options: Delimited By

■ Delimited By: , (a comma)

42 | Chapter 3 Points Tutorials


5 In the table of column names, click the first column heading (labeled
<unused>).

6 In the Point File Formats – Select Column Name dialog box, in the
Column Name list, select Point Number. Click OK.

7 Repeat steps 5 and 6 to name additional columns using the following


values:
■ Column 2: MH_Material

■ Column 3: MH_Diameter

■ Column 4: MH_Pipe In Invert

■ Column 5: MH_Pipe In Diameter

■ Column 6: MH_Pipe In Material

■ Column 7: MH_Pipe Out Invert

■ Column 8: MH_Pipe Out Diameter

■ Column 9: MH_Pipe Out Material

8 Click OK.

Import user-defined property data from a text file

1 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, ensure that the Point Groups


collection is expanded, and select the Storm Manholes group.
In the item view, note that this group contains only nine points, and
some of the data columns are blank.

2 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, right-click Points. Click Create.

3 In the Create Points dialog box, click Import Points.

4 In the Import Points dialog box, in the Format list, select Manhole Data.

5 Click . Browse to the tutorial folder (page 759). Select manhole_data.txt.


Click Open.

6 Click OK.

7 In the Duplicate Point Number dialog box, in the Resolution list, select
Merge. Click OK.
The point data is imported.

Exercise 4: Importing Points with User-Defined Properties | 43


NOTE If the Duplicate Point Number dialog box is displayed, for Resolution,
select Merge, and then click OK.

8 On the Prospector tab, click the Storm Manholes point group.


The point data from the file import is displayed in the item view,
including specific values for manhole data.

9 Close the Create Points dialog box.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 5: Querying User-Defined Property


Information (page 44).

Exercise 5: Querying User-Defined Property Information


In this exercise, you will create a point group. The list of points included in
the group is determined by a query that contains user-defined properties.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Creating a Point
Group Using the Query Builder.
This exercise continues from Exercise 4: Importing Points with User-Defined
Properties (page 42).

Create a point query

NOTE This exercise uses Points-4c.dwg with the modifications you made in the
previous exercise.

1 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, right-click Point Groups. Click New.

2 In the Point Group Properties dialog box, on the Information tab, for
Name, enter Storm Manholes - Invert In.

3 On the Query Builder tab, select Modify Query.

4 Right-click the Query Builder table. Click Insert Row.

5 Click the row you created. Click Name in the Property column. In the
Property list, select MH_Pipe In Invert.

6 Click the Operator value. In the Operator list, select < (less than).

7 Click the Value value. Enter 93.

8 Click OK.

44 | Chapter 3 Points Tutorials


9 On the Prospector tab, click Storm Manholes - Invert In.
A list of points that match your query is displayed in the item view. Points
number 307 and 667 are excluded, because in a previous exercise you set
their values for MH_Pipe In Invert to 93.05 and 93.00.

Exercise 5: Querying User-Defined Property Information | 45


46
Surfaces Tutorials
4
These tutorials will get you started working with land surfaces. A surface is a central object
for AutoCAD Civil 3D, and can be referenced by alignments, parcels, and other objects
throughout the design process.

NOTE All drawings used in these tutorials are available in the tutorial drawings folder (page
759). If you want to save your work from these tutorials, save the drawings to the My Civil
Tutorial Data folder (page 759) so that you do not overwrite the original drawings.

For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Understanding Surfaces.

Tutorial: Creating and Adding Data to a Surface


This tutorial demonstrates how to create a TIN surface, and then add contour,
breakline, and boundary data to the surface.
When you create a surface, its name is displayed in the Surfaces collection in
Toolspace on the Prospector tab. From this location, you can perform other
operations, such as adding data and editing the surface. When first created, the
surface is empty, so it is not visible in the drawing.
After data has been added to a surface, it becomes visible in the drawing in
accordance with the display settings specified in the referenced surface style.

TIN Surfaces
A TIN surface is composed of the triangles that form a triangulated irregular
network. A TIN line is one of the lines that makes up the surface triangulation.
To create TIN lines, AutoCAD Civil 3D connects the surface points that are
closest together. The TIN lines form triangles. The elevation of any point in the
surface is defined by interpolating the elevations of the vertices of the triangles
that the point lies in.

47
Contour Data
Contours are graphical illustrations of surface elevation changes. You can
create a surface from contours drawn as simple 3D polylines, which have x,
y, and z coordinate data.

Boundaries
Boundaries are closed polylines that affect the visibility of the triangles either
inside or outside the polylines. An outer boundary defines the extents of the
surface. All triangles inside the boundary are visible, and all triangles that are
outside the boundary are invisible.
Areas hidden by boundaries are not included in calculations, such as total
area and volume.
Surface boundaries are defined by selecting existing polygons in the drawing.
The surface definition displays the numerical ID and a list of vertices for each
boundary.

48 | Chapter 4 Surfaces Tutorials


Tutorial: Creating and Adding Data to a Surface | 49
Breaklines
Breaklines define linear surface features, such as retaining walls, curbs, tops
of ridges, and streams. Breaklines force surface triangulation to run along the
breakline; triangles do not cross a breakline.
Breaklines are critical to creating an accurate surface model. Breaklines are
important because it is the interpolation of the data, not just the data itself,
that determines the shape of the model.
You can use 3D lines or 3D polylines as breaklines. Each vertex on the polyline
is converted to a TIN point with the same XYZ coordinates. For 3D lines, each
line that you select is defined as a two-point breakline.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topics Creating Surfaces
and Adding and Editing Surface Data.

50 | Chapter 4 Surfaces Tutorials


Exercise 1: Creating a TIN Surface
In this exercise, you will create an empty TIN surface in a new drawing.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Creating a TIN
Surface.

Create a TIN surface in a new drawing

1 Click ➤ New.

2 In the Select Template dialog box, browse to the tutorial folder (page 759).
Select Surface_M.dwt. Click Open.

3 Click Home tab ➤ Create Ground Data panel ➤ Surfaces

drop-down ➤ Create Surface .

4 In the Create Surface dialog box, for Type, select TIN surface.

NOTE By default, a new Surface Layer will be created named C-TOPO-

followed by the name you enter in the Name cell. You can also click to
specify an existing layer for the surface.

5 In the Properties table, specify the following parameters:


■ Name: EG

■ Description: Existing Ground surface from imported contour data

■ Style: Contours 5m and 25m (Background)

TIP To select the style, click the Value cell, and then click to display
the Select Surface Style dialog box.

■ Render Material: ByLayer

6 Click OK.

7 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, expand the Surfaces collection.

The new surface name is displayed in the Surfaces collection in


Toolspace on the Prospector tab, but this surface does not contain any
data.

Exercise 1: Creating a TIN Surface | 51


To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Adding Contour Data to a Surface
(page 52).

Exercise 2: Adding Contour Data to a Surface


In this exercise, you will insert contour data as 3D polylines from an existing
drawing into the current drawing, and then add the polylines to the surface
definition.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Contours.
This exercise continues from Exercise 1: Creating a TIN Surface (page 51).

Insert contour polylines into the current drawing

1 Click Insert tab ➤ Block panel ➤ Insert.

2 In the Insert dialog box, click Browse.

3 In the Select Drawing File dialog box, browse to the tutorial drawings folder
(page 759). Select Surface-1A_M.dwg. Click Open.

4 In the Insert dialog box, specify the following parameters:

Insertion Point

■ Specify On Screen: Cleared

■ X: 0

■ Y: 0

■ Z: 0

Scale

■ Specify On Screen: Cleared

■ X: 1

■ Uniform Scale: Selected

Rotation

■ Specify On Screen: Cleared

■ Angle: 0

52 | Chapter 4 Surfaces Tutorials


Explode: Selected

5 Click OK.

6 Click Home tab ➤ View panel ➤ views drop-down ➤ Extents.


The drawing zooms to the extents of the inserted polylines.

Add the contours to the surface definition

1 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, expand Surfaces ➤ EG ➤

Definition. Right-click Contours. Click Add.

2 In the Add Contour Data dialog box, for Description, enter Contours
from polylines.

3 Click OK.

4 Draw a selection rectangle around the polylines. Press Enter to complete


the selection.

Exercise 2: Adding Contour Data to a Surface | 53


The contours are added to the EG surface definition, and the surface is
updated in the drawing. The original contours used to create the surface
are still visible in the drawing. You will freeze the original contour layers
to hide the original contours.

5 Click Home tab ➤ Layers panel ➤ Layer drop-down. Next to the

_EG-CONT-MNR and _EG-CONT-MJR layers, click . Click in the


drawing to exit the Layer list.

The layers are frozen .

54 | Chapter 4 Surfaces Tutorials


To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 3: Adding Breaklines to a Surface (page
55).

Exercise 3: Adding Breaklines to a Surface


In this exercise, you will cause the surface to triangulate along a linear feature.
Breaklines are used to define surface features and to force triangulation along
the breakline. Surfaces do not triangulate across breaklines, creating more
accurate TIN surface models.
In this exercise, you will create breaklines along the edge of pavement for an
existing road. Breaking the surface along features produces a more accurate
surface rendering.

Exercise 3: Adding Breaklines to a Surface | 55


For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Breaklines.
This exercise continues from Exercise 2: Adding Contour Data to a Surface
(page 52).

Display the source polylines and change the surface style

NOTE This exercise uses the drawing you created in the previous exercises, or you
can open Surface-1B_M.dwg from the tutorial drawings folder (page 759).

1 Click Home tab ➤ Layers panel ➤ Layer drop-down. Next to the

_EG_BREAKLINES layer, click .


The 3D polylines that represent the edge of pavement (EP) of an existing
road are displayed on the east side of the site.

NOTE The EP polylines were added to the drawing when you inserted the
original surface contours in the previous exercise.

2 Select the surface. Right-click. Click Surface Properties.

3 In the Surface Properties dialog box, on the Information tab, for Surface
Style, select Contours and Triangles. Click OK.

56 | Chapter 4 Surfaces Tutorials


The surface now shows contours and triangles that illustrate the EG
surface triangulation.

Create breaklines from the polylines

1 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, expand the Surfaces ➤ EG ➤

Definition collections. Right-click Breaklines. Click Add.

2 In the Add Breaklines dialog box, for Description, enter Edge of pavement
- existing road. Use the default values for the other fields. Click OK.

3 The Select Objects prompt becomes active. While in this command, use
the Zoom and Pan commands to locate the two blue 3D polylines on the
east side of the site.
Zoom in close so you can see that the triangles cross over the polylines.

Exercise 3: Adding Breaklines to a Surface | 57


4 Select the polylines. Press Enter.
The surface triangulation is modified. The edge of pavement breaklines
are applied, and the TIN surface is adjusted along the breakline edges,
modifying the surface triangulation.

58 | Chapter 4 Surfaces Tutorials


5 Click Home tab ➤ View panel ➤ views drop-down ➤ Extents.
The drawing window zooms to the extents of the surface. With the
breakline data added, the layer that contained the source data for the
breaklines can be frozen.

6 Click Home tab ➤ Layers panel ➤ Layer drop-down. Next to the

EG_BREAKLINES layer, click .

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 4: Adding an Outer Boundary to a


Surface (page 59).

Exercise 4: Adding an Outer Boundary to a Surface


In this exercise, you will insert a polyline from an external DWG file and
create an outer surface boundary from the polyline.

Exercise 4: Adding an Outer Boundary to a Surface | 59


For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Boundaries.
This exercise continues from Exercise 3: Adding Breaklines to a Surface (page
55).

Create an outer boundary from a polyline

NOTE This exercise uses Surface-1B_M.dwg with the modifications you made in
the previous exercise.

1 Click Home tab ➤ Layers panel ➤ Layer drop-down. Next to the

_EG-BNDY layer, click . Click in the drawing to exit the Layer Control
list.
A blue polyline, which represents the extents of the site, is displayed.
This polyline was imported with the original surface contours.

2 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, expand the Surfaces ➤ EG ➤

Definition collections. Right-click Boundaries. Click Add.

60 | Chapter 4 Surfaces Tutorials


3 In the Add Boundaries dialog box, specify the following parameters:
■ Name: EG - Outer

■ Type: Outer

■ Non-Destructive Breakline: Cleared

■ Mid-Ordinate Distance: 1.0000

4 Click OK.

5 Select the blue polyline.

The boundary is added to the surface definition, and the surface display
in the drawing is clipped to the area that is defined by the new outer
boundary.

Hide the polyline and change the surface style

1 Click Home tab ➤ Layers panel ➤ Layer drop-down. Next to the

_EG-BNDY layer, click .

2 Select the surface. Right-click. Click Surface Properties.

Exercise 4: Adding an Outer Boundary to a Surface | 61


3 In the Surface Properties dialog box, on the Information tab, for Surface
Style, select Contours 5m and 25m (Background). Click OK.
In the selected surface style, contours are displayed in muted colors at
broad intervals. This display allows the major surface features to remain
visible while you focus on other aspects of the site design.

To continue to the next tutorial, go to Working with Large Surfaces (page 62).

Tutorial: Working with Large Surfaces


This tutorial demonstrates several features that can help you manage large
surfaces efficiently in AutoCAD Civil 3D.
Because surfaces can contain large amounts of data, it is important to use only
as much data is necessary for the current task. For example, when building a
surface from LIDAR data, the corresponding point file can contain millions
of points. If all of those points are included in the surface definition, it can
take a considerable amount of time to rebuild the surface. If you restrict the
points that the surface uses to a given area, the surface rebuilds faster and the
drawing size is smaller.

62 | Chapter 4 Surfaces Tutorials


The exercises in this tutorial demonstrate how to insert a relatively dense
LIDAR point file into a surface, but restrict the amount of data that is actually
used.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Adding and Editing
Surface Data.

Exercise 1: Limiting Imported Surface Data


In this exercise, you will use a data clip boundary to restrict the quantity of
points that is referenced by a surface.
Points that are in the point file, but outside the specified data clip boundary,
will be ignored when the surface is built and during any subsequent surface
editing operations.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Boundaries.

Add a data clip boundary to a surface

1 Open Surface-2.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759).

2 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, expand the Surfaces collection.


Expand the EG surface.
The EG surface is currently empty. In the following steps, you will use
the red polyline in the drawing to create a Data Clip boundary, which
will restrict imported surface data to the extents of the boundary. Then,
you will import a relatively dense LIDAR point file and examine the
results.

3 Expand the EG surface ➤ Definition collection. Right-click Boundaries.


Click Add.

4 In the Add Boundaries dialog box, specify the following parameters:


■ Name: Site

■ Type: Data Clip

■ Mid-Ordinate Distance: 1.000’

5 Click OK.

6 In the drawing window, click the red polyline.


The polyline is added to the EG surface definition as a boundary. The
presence of a boundary in the surface definition is indicated by the

Exercise 1: Limiting Imported Surface Data | 63


marker next to the Boundaries item on the Prospector tab. When the
Boundaries collection is selected, the boundaries that have been added
to the surface appear in the Prospector list view.
In the following steps, you will add a relatively dense LIDAR point file
to the surface definition. The point file will be added only within the
extents of the data clip boundary that you just added.

Import surface data from a point file

1 Expand the EG surface ➤ Definition collection. Right-click Point Files.


Click Add.

2 In the Add Point File dialog box, in the Format list, select ENZ (Comma
Delimited).

3 Click at the end of the Source File(s) field.

4 In the Select Source File dialog box, ensure that the Files Of Type field is
set to (*.csv).

5 Navigate to the tutorial folder (page 759). Select LIDAR_ENZ (comma


delimited).csv. Click Open.

6 In the Add Point File dialog box, clear both the Do Elevation Adjustment
If Possible and Do Coordinate Transformation If Possible check boxes.
Click OK.
The point data is added to the drawing.
A reference to the point file is added to the EG surface definition. The
presence of point data in the surface definition is indicated by the
marker next to the Point Files item on the Prospector tab.

7 Zoom in to the lower right corner of the surface.


Notice that only points that are inside the data clip boundary have been
imported, and that a green border was created from the imported data.
The border is outside the red data clip boundary in some areas, and inside
the data clip boundary in other areas. This happened because points in
the point file that are outside the data clip boundary were excluded during
the import operation. The green border is formed by the points at the
outermost extents of the points that were imported.

64 | Chapter 4 Surfaces Tutorials


Surface with points imported within a data clip boundary (left) and detail of the surface
(right)

8 On the command line, enter ZE to zoom to the extents of the drawing.

Restrict the surface data to a smaller area

1 Click Home tab ➤ Layers panel ➤ Layer drop-down. Next to the

C-TOPO-BNDY-CORR layer, click .


This layer contains an orange polyline that you will use to create a second
data clip boundary.

2 Expand the EG surface ➤ Definition collection. Right-click Boundaries.


Click Add.

3 In the Add Boundaries dialog box, specify the following parameters:


■ Name: Corridor

■ Type: Data Clip

■ Mid-Ordinate Distance: 1.000’

4 Click OK.

5 In the drawing window, click the orange polyline.

Exercise 1: Limiting Imported Surface Data | 65


The polyline is added to the EG surface definition as a boundary, but the
point data did not change. Data clip boundaries only affect surface editing
operations that are performed after the data clip boundary has been
added. Because the points were added to the surface before the Corridor
boundary, the boundary currently does not affect the point data.
In the following steps, you will rearrange the surface definition operations
so that the points will be restricted to the extents of the new Corridor
data clip boundary.

6 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, right-click the EG surface. Click


Surface Properties.

7 In the Surface Properties dialog box, on the Definition tab, in the


Operation Type column, examine the order of the operations.
The operations you performed in this exercise are listed in the order in
which they were performed. The Site data clip boundary was added first,
and it affects the operations that follow it. The Corridor data clip
boundary was added last, so it currently does not affect any other
operations.

8 Select the last Add Boundary operation in the list. Click to move the
Add Boundary operation to the top of the list.

9 Select the other Add Boundary operation. Click to move the Add
Boundary operation to the bottom of the list.

10 Click Apply.

11 In the Surface Properties - Rebuild Surface dialog box, click Rebuild


Surface.
When the surface rebuilds, the points outside the orange Corridor data
clip boundary are excluded from the surface.

66 | Chapter 4 Surfaces Tutorials


Surface with Corridor data clip boundary applied

Further exploration: Rearrange the surface definition operations and


observe the results. Before you continue to the next exercise, make sure
that the Operation Type table is in the following order:
■ Add Boundary: Corridor

■ Import Point File

■ Add Boundary: Site

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Simplifying a Surface (page 68).

Exercise 1: Limiting Imported Surface Data | 67


Exercise 2: Simplifying a Surface
In this exercise, you will reduce the number of points that are used to define
a surface.
A surface can be simplified by removing either TIN edges or points. When the
simplify surface command is complete, new points and TIN edges are calculated
based on specified parameters. The original surface points are still contained
in the referenced point file, but are not used in the surface triangulation.
In this exercise, you will use the Point Removal method of simplifying a
surface. This method randomly selects points from the surface, and removes
them based on the point density at different areas of the surface. More points
are removed from areas in which the concentration of points is very dense
than from areas that contain fewer points.

NOTE You cannot specify which points to remove. Points that are used to define
surface borders and breaklines are not removed with the Simplify Surface command.

For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Simplifying Surfaces.
This exercise continues from Exercise 1: Limiting Imported Surface Data (page
63).

Simplify a surface

NOTE This exercise uses Surface-2.dwg with the modifications you made in the
previous exercise.

1 Click Home tab ➤ Layers panel ➤ Layer drop-down. Next to the


C-TOPO-CONT-MAJR-ORIG and C-TOPO-CONT-MINR-ORIG layers, click

.
These layers contains polylines that represent the original major and
minor contours. These polylines will enable you to observe the results of
the Simplify Surface command.

2 Click Surface tab ➤ Modify panel ➤ Edit Surface drop-down ➤ Simplify


Surface .

3 In the Simplify Surface wizard, on the Simplify Methods page, select the
Point Removal option.

4 Click Next.

68 | Chapter 4 Surfaces Tutorials


5 On the Region Options page, specify the following parameters:
■ Select Objects: Selected

■ Mid-Ordinate Distance: 1.000’

6 Click Pick In Drawing.

7 In the drawing, click the orange corridor boundary.


In the Simplify Surface wizard, notice the value for Total Points Selected
In Region. This is the current number of points in the selected region.

8 Click Next.

9 On the Reduction Options page, specify the following parameters:


■ Percentage Of Points To Remove: Selected, 50%

■ Maximum Change In Elevation: Cleared

10 Click Apply.
At the bottom of the wizard, notice the Total Points Removed value. This
value is the number of points that the simplify surface command removed
within the selected boundary.

NOTE You can click Apply again to repeat the Simplify Surface command
and keep the wizard open. If you click Finish, the Simplify Surface command
is repeated and the wizard is closed.

11 Click Cancel.

12 Zoom in to the surface.


Notice that the points are not as dense as they were at the beginning of
the exercise, and the new, gray surface contours are very similar to the
original contours. The Simplify Surface command reduced the amount
of data that the surface uses without sacrificing much surface accuracy.

Exercise 2: Simplifying a Surface | 69


Simplified surface

To continue to the next tutorial, go to Changing the Surface Style and Display
(page 70).

Tutorial: Changing the Surface Style and Display


This tutorial demonstrates how to change and constrain the surface styles and
display.
Using styles is an efficient way to control surface display. Rather than
answering prompts for numerous variables every time you create a surface,
you can reference a predefined style that sets all the variables as required.

70 | Chapter 4 Surfaces Tutorials


Surface styles are managed the way all object styles are managed in AutoCAD
Civil 3D, by using the Toolspace Settings tree. All objects have a standard
object style grouping on the Settings tree, called an object style collection.
You can create, edit, copy, and delete the styles for an object.
Surface styles define how the surface components are displayed in the drawing.
If you want to change the appearance of a component, either apply a different
style or edit the style.
The surface styles contain the following component parameters and component
display settings for the creation of surface data objects:

■ Borders — Interior and exterior border and datum display

■ Contours — Minor, major, depression, and user-defined contour lines


display

■ Grid — Primary and secondary grid display

■ Points — All surface points for the TIN or Grid surfaces

■ Triangles — TIN face information

■ Watersheds — Watershed analysis display

■ Analysis — Directions, elevations, slopes, and slope arrows

For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Surface Styles and
Display.

Exercise 1: Editing the Surface Style


In this exercise, you will hide the display of the points on the surface and turn
on the display of depression contours.
Depression contours form closed loops around areas of descending elevation.
These are areas where lakes or ponds can form if the rainfall and soil conditions
are right.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Surface Styles and
Visualization.

Edit the surface style

1 Open Surface-3.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759).

Exercise 1: Editing the Surface Style | 71


2 In Toolspace, on the Settings tab, expand the Surface ➤ Surface Styles
collection.
This collection contains the existing surface styles in the drawing.

3 The style (Standard) that is being referenced by a surface in the drawing


is designated with an orange marker:

4 Right-click the Standard surface style. Click Edit.

5 In the Surface Style dialog box, click the Display tab.

6 In the Component Display table, turn off the visibility of Points in the
surface. To do this, click in the Visible column. Click Apply.

7 Click the Contours tab.

8 Expand the Contour Depressions property group. Specify the following


parameters:
■ Display Depression Contours: True

■ Tick Mark Length: 5

9 Click OK.

10 Depression contours are now visible in the drawing, with tick marks along
their length.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Using a Different Style for a Surface


(page 72).

Exercise 2: Using a Different Style for a Surface


In this exercise, you will change the surface style, which the surface is
referencing, to display different views of the surface.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Surface Styles and
Visualization.
This exercise continues from Exercise 1: Editing the Surface Style (page 71).

72 | Chapter 4 Surfaces Tutorials


Change the surface style

NOTE This exercise uses Surface-3.dwg with the modifications you made in the
previous exercise.

1 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, expand the Surfaces collection.


Right-click the XGND surface. Click Surface Properties.

2 In the Surface Properties dialog box, on the Information tab, in the Surface
Style list, select Border & Triangles & Points.
This style is set to display the borders and the TIN faces with 3x vertical
exaggeration. These display settings make it easier to see the vertical relief
of the surface.

3 Click OK.
The surface representation updates to display the TIN triangles and border.

4 Click View tab ➤ Navigate panel ➤ Orbit drop-down ➤ Free Orbit.

5 Using the Free Orbit tool, rotate the surface in the drawing to display the
exaggerated elevations. These elevations are most evident along the
bottom of the surface where a prominent ridge appears.

6 To return to the regular plan view of the surface, click View tab ➤ Views
panel ➤ Views drop-down ➤ Top.

7 Follow steps 1 to 3 to return the surface style to Standard.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 3: Labeling a Surface (page 73).

Exercise 3: Labeling a Surface


In this exercise, you will add labels across surface contours. You will place
individual labels manually and a series of labels automatically, using AutoCAD
polylines as a guide.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Adding Surface
Labels.
This exercise continues from Exercise 2: Using a Different Style for a Surface
(page 72).

Exercise 3: Labeling a Surface | 73


Draw a polyline to use as a guide

NOTE This exercise uses Surface-3.dwg with the modifications you made in the
previous exercise.

1 Click View tab ➤ Views panel ➤ views list ➤ Surface Labels.

2 On the command line, enter PLine.

3 When prompted for a start point, click in the green circle in the upper
left corner of the view.

4 Click in the middle circle, then the lower right circle. Press Enter to end
the PLine command.

Label surface contours along the polyline

1 Click Annotate tab ➤ Labels & Tables panel ➤ Add Labels


menu ➤ Surface ➤ Add Surface Labels .

2 In the Add Labels dialog box, set the Label Type to Contour - Multiple.
Leave the other settings at their defaults. Click Add.

3 On the command line, enter O to specify that you will select an object
to use as a guide.

4 On the command line, enter Y to delete the polyline after the labels have
been created.

5 In the drawing window, select the polyline. Press Enter to end the
selection command.
The labels are created along the path you specified with the polyline.
This method of surface labeling is useful when you want to lay out the
path of surface contour labels before you create the labels. If you wanted
to create the path and labels simultaneously without first drawing a
polyline, you would click Annotate tab ➤ Labels & Tables panel ➤ Add
Labels menu ➤ Surface ➤ Contour - Multiple , then draw the path.

6 In the drawing window, click the line on which the surface labels were
drawn. Grips appear on the line.

7 Select the grip in the circle at the upper left. It turns red, indicating that
it is active.

8 Drag the grip to a new location and click. Notice that the labels update
automatically to reflect their new position.

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Add spot elevation labels

1 In the Add Labels dialog box, specify the following parameters:


■ Label Type: Spot Elevation

■ Spot Elevation Label Style: Standard

2 Click Add. When prompted, click a point along the ridge to place a label.

3 In the Add Labels dialog box, set the Spot Elevation Label Style to Foot
Meter.

4 Click Add. When prompted, click a point along the ridge to place a label.
Using the Add Labels dialog box, you can change label properties as
needed while you create surface labels.

5 Click Close.

To continue to the next tutorial, go to Editing Surface Data (page 75).

Tutorial: Editing Surface Data


This tutorial demonstrates some common surface editing tasks, including edge
swapping, TIN line deletion, and surface smoothing. You will also hide part
of the surface using a hide boundary.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Surface Editing
Operations.

Edge Swapping
Edge swapping is used to change the direction of two triangle faces in the
surface, to create a more accurate surface model. For example, edges can be
swapped to match the triangle edges to ridges or swales.

Tutorial: Editing Surface Data | 75


Deleting TIN Lines
Deleting TIN lines may be required, for example, if the surface has TIN triangles
on the perimeter that are long and narrow. In this case, the triangles might
not be accurate for the surface, and should be deleted.
Surface TIN or Grid lines can also be deleted within a pond, for example, to
create a void area. By removing these lines, you can prevent contours from
being drawn through the void areas.
When an edge is removed, either an interior border that follows the adjacent
lines is created, or the exterior border is modified to follow the new lines.

Hide Boundaries
Hide boundaries mask areas of the surface so triangulation, and therefore
contours, are not visible in the area. Use hide boundaries to create holes in a
surface, for example, to mark a building footprint.

NOTE When you use a hide boundary, the surface is not deleted. The full surface
remains intact. If there are surface TIN lines that you want to permanently remove
from the surface, use the Delete Line command.

76 | Chapter 4 Surfaces Tutorials


Surface Smoothing
Surface smoothing is an operation that adds points at system-determined
elevations using Natural Neighbor Interpolation(NNI) or Kriging methods.
The result is smoothed contours, with no overlap.
You perform smoothing as an edit operation on a surface. You can specify
smoothing properties and then turn them on or off. When the smoothing is
turned off, the surface reverts back to its original state. However, the smoothing
operation remains in the surface operation list, and it can be turned on again.
NNI is a method used to estimate the elevation (Z) of an arbitrary point (P)
from a set of points with known elevations.
This method uses information in the triangulation of the known points to
compute a weighted average of the elevations of the natural neighbors of a
point.

To use NNI, specify only the output locations of the interpolated points. The
elevations of the interpolated points are always based on the weighted average
of the elevations of the existing neighboring points. NNI interpolates only
within the surface.

Exercise 1: Swapping TIN Edges


In this exercise, you will swap several TIN edges in a surface.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Swapping Edges.

Exercise 1: Swapping TIN Edges | 77


Swap TIN edges

1 Open Surface-4A.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759).
In this drawing, the surface is displayed as TIN lines overlaid on an
externally referenced landbase image.

2 Zoom in to the lower edge of the surface.

3 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, expand the surface Definition


collection. Right-click Edits.

4 Click Swap Edge.


On the command line, you are prompted to select an edge (line) to swap.

5 Click a TIN edge to swap it.

78 | Chapter 4 Surfaces Tutorials


The edge is swapped if the following criteria are met:
■ Two visible triangles are separated by the edge.

■ The quadrilateral formed by the two triangles (which are separated


by the edge) is convex.

6 Optionally, continue to click other TIN edges to swap them.

Exercise 1: Swapping TIN Edges | 79


7 Press Enter to end the command.
The edits are added as Swap Edge operations to the Edits list view on the
Prospector tab.

NOTE The Description column in the list view provides the coordinates of
the pick point along the edge that was swapped.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Deleting TIN Lines (page 80).

Exercise 2: Deleting TIN Lines


In this exercise, you will delete TIN lines from a surface.
The TIN lines fall within a pond. By removing these lines, you can prevent
contours from being drawn through the pond area.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Deleting TIN or
Grid Lines.
This exercise continues from Exercise 1: Swapping TIN Edges (page 77).

Delete TIN lines

1 Open Surface-4B.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759).
In this drawing, the surface is displayed as TIN lines overlaid on an
externally referenced landbase image.

2 Zoom in to the rounded pond area in the upper left of the surface.

80 | Chapter 4 Surfaces Tutorials


3 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, expand the surface Definition
collection, and right-click the Edits item.

4 Click Delete Line.


On the command line, you are prompted to select an edge (line) to
remove.

5 Click an edge that crosses the surface of the pond. Press Enter.
The edge is removed and an interior border is created, following the
adjacent TIN lines.

6 Repeat the Delete Line command and remove all TIN lines that cross the
pond surface.

TIP Enter C on the command line to use crossing selection during the delete
line command.

Exercise 2: Deleting TIN Lines | 81


The edits are added as Delete Line operations to the Edits list view in
Prospector.

NOTE The Description column in the list view provides the coordinates of
the vertices for the edge that was deleted.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 3: Adding a Hide Boundary (page 82).

Exercise 3: Adding a Hide Boundary


In this exercise, you will create a hide boundary on the surface, which will
mask unwanted triangulation.
A boundary can be created from any polygon or polyline, but in this exercise
you will use an existing breakline.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Boundaries.
This exercise continues from Exercise 2: Deleting TIN Lines (page 80).

82 | Chapter 4 Surfaces Tutorials


Add a hide boundary

1 Open Surface-4C.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759).

NOTE This drawing is similar to Surface-3A.dwg with the addition of the


C-TOPO-BRKL layer, which displays breaklines.

2 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, under the Surfaces collection, expand


the XGND surface.

3 Under the XGND surface, expand the Definition collection. Right-click


Boundaries. Click Add.

4 In the Add Boundaries dialog box, specify the following parameters:


■ Name: XGND-Pond Hide

■ Type: Hide

■ Non-Destructive Breakline: Selected

■ Mid-Ordinate Distance: 1.0000

5 Click OK.

6 In the drawing, select the polyline object that matches the perimeter of
the pond.

7 Press Enter.
The hide boundary is added to the surface definition. The surface
displayed in the drawing is modified to display the pond as a ‘hole’ in
the surface.

Exercise 3: Adding a Hide Boundary | 83


To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 4: Smoothing a Surface (page 84).

Exercise 4: Smoothing a Surface


In this exercise, you will smooth a surface using the Natural Neighbor
Interpolation (NNI) method.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Smoothing Surfaces.
This exercise continues from Exercise 3: Adding a Hide Boundary (page 82).

Smooth a surface using NNI

1 Open Surface-4D.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759).

2 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, expand the XGND surface


Definition collection and right-click Edits.

84 | Chapter 4 Surfaces Tutorials


3 Click Smooth Surface.

4 In the Smooth Surface dialog box, specify the following parameters:


■ Select Method: Natural Neighbor Interpolation

■ Output Locations: Grid Based


The Grid Based output location interpolates surface points on a grid
defined within specified polygon areas selected in the drawing. After
the areas are defined, you can specify the grid X and Y spacing and
orientation properties.

5 For the Select Output Region parameter, click the Value column. Click
.

6 On the command line, enter Surface for the output region. This option
will smooth the whole surface, rather than just the area within a specified
rectangle or polygon.

7 In the Smooth Surface dialog box, specify the following parameters:


■ Grid X-Spacing: 10

■ Grid Y-Spacing: 10

8 In the drawing window, notice where some of the contour lines are
especially angular. Click OK to smooth the surface.
The display of the surface is smoothed; contours are less angular. A
Smooth Surface item is added to the Edits list view on the Prospector tab.

NOTE The Description column in the list view displays the type of surface
smoothing that was used (Natural Neighbor Smoothing). You can delete the
Smooth Surface edit from the list, but this does not reverse the smoothing
operation until you rebuild the surface. You can also reverse the smoothing
operation by using the U (undo) command.

To continue to the next tutorial, go to Creating a Watershed and Water Drop


Analysis (page 85).

Tutorial: Creating a Watershed and Water Drop


Analysis
This tutorial demonstrates how to create two kinds of surface analysis:
watershed and water drop.

Tutorial: Creating a Watershed and Water Drop Analysis | 85


You use watershed analysis, which is one of several types of analysis that you
can perform on a surface, to visualize and analyze the surface watersheds. You
use water drop analysis, which is a separate utility, to trace the path that water
would take across a surface. This tutorial includes the following general steps:

■ Configuring the watershed display and legend settings.

■ Configuring and creating a watershed analysis.

■ Inserting the watershed legend table.

■ Extracting objects from a surface.

■ Configuring and creating a water drop analysis.

■ Creating a catchment area.

AutoCAD Civil 3D uses the surface TIN lines to calculate the areas that water
would flow along the surface. From these areas, the drain targets and
watersheds are determined.
Other types of surface analysis include slope, aspect, elevations, and contours.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topics Watersheds and
Analyzing Surfaces.

Exercise 1: Configuring a Style for Watershed Display


In this exercise, you will configure a style for watershed display.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Surface Styles and
Visualization.

Configure a style for watershed display

1 Open Surface-5A.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759).

2 In Toolspace, on the Settings tab, expand the Surface ➤ Surface Styles.


Right-click the Standard surface style. Click Copy.

3 In the Surface Style dialog box, on the Information tab, for Name, enter
Watersheds.

4 On the Watersheds tab, in the Watershed Properties table, expand the


Depression Watershed property group. Change Use Hatching to True.

86 | Chapter 4 Surfaces Tutorials


5 Click Hatch Pattern and click .

6 In the Hatch Properties dialog box, specify the following parameters:


■ Pattern: AR-SAND

■ Scale: 15

7 Click OK.

8 On the Display tab, in the Component Display table, click next to


Watersheds to turn on display of the watershed components.

9 Click OK.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Generating a Watershed Analysis


(page 87).

Exercise 2: Generating a Watershed Analysis


In this exercise, you will generate and display the watershed analysis.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Analyzing Surfaces.
This exercise continues from Exercise 1: Configuring a Style for Watershed
Display (page 86).

Generate a watershed analysis

NOTE This exercise uses Surface-5A.dwg with the modifications you made in the
previous exercise.

1 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, expand the Surfaces collection.


Right-click the XGND surface. Click Surface Properties.

2 In the Surface Properties dialog box, on the Information tab, for Surface
Style, select Watersheds.

3 On the Analysis tab, for Analysis Type, select Watersheds.

4 Ensure that Standard is selected in the Legend list.

5 Click to generate the watershed analysis.


The details of the surface watersheds are displayed in the Details table.

Exercise 2: Generating a Watershed Analysis | 87


6 Click .

7 On the Watershed Display dialog box, click next to Boundary Point


and Boundary Segment to turn off the display of these watershed types.

8 Click OK twice.

9 The watersheds are displayed on the surface in the drawing.

10 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, expand the Surfaces ➤ XGND


collection. Click the Watersheds collection.
The Prospector list view displays a tabular list of the surface watersheds
with their IDs, description, type, and the ID of the watershed that they
drain into.

11 Optionally, pan or zoom to an individual watershed. Right-click the


watershed item in the list view and click Pan To or Zoom To.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 3: Creating a Watershed Legend (page


88).

Exercise 3: Creating a Watershed Legend


In this exercise, you will add a watershed legend table to the drawing.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Adding Surface
Legend Tables.
This exercise continues from Exercise 2: Generating a Watershed Analysis
(page 87).

Create a watershed legend table

NOTE This exercise uses Surface-5A.dwg with the modifications you made in the
previous exercise, or you can open Surface-5B.dwg from the tutorial drawings
folder (page 759).

1 In Toolspace, on the Settings tab, expand the Surface ➤ Table


Styles ➤ Watershed collection.

2 Right-click the Standard style. Click Edit.

3 In the Table Style dialog box, on the Data Properties tab, clear the Sort
Data check box.

88 | Chapter 4 Surfaces Tutorials


4 Click OK.

5 Click Annotate tab ➤ Labels & Tables panel ➤ Add Tables menu ➤ Add
Surface Legend Table.

6 At the prompt to specify the table type, enter Watersheds.

7 You are prompted to specify whether you want the table to automatically
update if the analysis information changes. Enter Dynamic to enable
automatic updating.
If a change is made to the surface and the watershed analysis is
regenerated, the legend is automatically updated.

8 Click a location in the drawing where you want to place the upper-left
corner of the table.
The legend table is displayed in the drawing at the selected location.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 4: Extracting Objects from a Surface


(page 89).

Exercise 4: Extracting Objects from a Surface


In this exercise, you will use the watershed data to create non-destructive
AutoCAD objects from the surface.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Extracting Surface
Data.
This exercise continues from Exercise 3: Creating a Watershed Legend (page
88).

Extract objects from a surface

NOTE This exercise uses Surface-5B.dwg with the modifications you made in the
previous exercise.

1 Click Surface tab ➤ Surface Tools panel ➤ Extract Objects .

2 The Extract Objects From Surface dialog box lists all of the surface
properties that are visible in the currently selected surface style. Clear all
boxes in the Properties column except for Watersheds.

3 Click OK.
AutoCAD objects are created from each of the watersheds in the drawing.

Exercise 4: Extracting Objects from a Surface | 89


4 In the drawing, click inside several of the watershed areas.
A blue grip appears inside each area, indicating that you have selected
an AutoCAD object.

5 On the command line, enter List.


The AutoCAD text window displays parameters for the first object you
selected.

6 Press Enter to view the parameters for each subsequent object you selected.
You can use any of the standard AutoCAD commands to modify or query
the new objects.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 5: Analyzing Surface Water Runoff


(page 90).

Exercise 5: Analyzing Surface Water Runoff


In this exercise, you will create lines that illustrate the path that flowing water
would take across a surface. Then, you will create a polygon that defines the
catchment region and its area on the surface.
The water drop utility creates either a 2D or 3D polyline object that runs
downhill on a surface from any point you select. You can specify whether the
point you select is indicated with a marker. After the lines are created, you
can edit or modify them as needed.
You can use the information you get from the water drop analysis to calculate
catchment areas, based on specified low points of the surface. The catchment
regions can be created on the surface as either 2D or 3D polygons, which can
be exported to a hydrology application for detailed analysis.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topics Drawing Water
Drop Paths and Displaying and Calculating Catchment Areas.
This exercise uses a drawing file similar to the one used in Exercise 3: Creating
a Watershed Legend (page 88). The surface style is changed to make it easier
to see the basic surface features, and it contains a simple point style for you
to use as a start point marker.
This exercise continues from Exercise 4: Extracting Objects from a Surface
(page 89).

90 | Chapter 4 Surfaces Tutorials


Perform a water drop analysis

1 Open Surface-5C.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759).

2 Click Analyze tab ➤ Ground Data panel ➤ Water Drop .

3 In the Water Drop dialog box, specify the following parameters.


■ Path Layer: C-TOPO-WDRP

■ Path Object Type: 2D Polyline

■ Place Marker At Start Point: Yes

■ Start Point Marker Style: WD Start

4 Click OK.

5 In the drawing, click several locations near those displayed in the


following illustration.
A 2D polyline is drawn, representing the flow of water from the spot you

selected. The start point of the path is indicated by a marker.


If a water path splits, additional lines are drawn to follow each path.

Exercise 5: Analyzing Surface Water Runoff | 91


Waterdrop paths (arrows indicate culvert inlet locations)

6 Press Enter to end the waterdrop command.


Notice that most waterdrop paths in this area drain to the culverts that
are indicated by the red arrows. Next, you will use the water drop paths
you just created to define a catchment area that influences the culverts.

Create catchment areas

1 Click Analyze tab ➤ Ground Data panel ➤ Catchment Area .

2 In the Water Drop dialog box, specify the following parameters:


■ Catchment Layer: C-TOPO-CATCH

■ Catchment Object Type: 2D Polyline

■ Catchment Marker: Yes

■ Catchment Marker Style: Catchment Area

3 Click OK.

92 | Chapter 4 Surfaces Tutorials


4 In the drawing, click the marker for each waterdrop path.
Blue polygons that define each catchment region are created. The area
value of each catchment region is displayed on the command line. In

the drawing, each catchment point is indicated by a marker.

NOTE If you receive a message indicating that the specified location results
in a catchment area with no area, it means that there is no flat area or high
spot on the specified point.

5 Press Enter to end the catchment area command.

Catchment areas defined

Combine multiple catchment areas

1 In the drawing, select the polygons that define catchment areas.


Right-click. Select Isolate Objects ➤ Isolate Selected Objects.
The polygons are displayed in the drawing window, but all other objects
are hidden.

2 Select the polygons again.

Exercise 5: Analyzing Surface Water Runoff | 93


3 On the command line, enter LineWorkShrinkWrap.
A black polygon that contains the combined area of the catchment areas
is displayed. The LineWorkShrinkWrap command creates a single outside
boundary of a selection of touching polygons. The original polygons are
not deleted.

Combined catchment areas

4 In the drawing, right-click. Click Isolate Objects ➤ End Object Isolation.


The remaining drawing objects are displayed in the drawing window.

TIP You can transfer individual or shrinkwrapped catchment area polygons


to a hydrology application for further analysis.

To continue to the next tutorial, go to Generating Surface Volume Information


(page 94).

Tutorial: Generating Surface Volume Information


This tutorial demonstrates how to create base and comparison surfaces, create
a composite volume surface from those surfaces, and then perform composite
volume calculations.
A volume surface is similar to other surface objects, in that you can display cut
and fill contours, cut and fill points, add labels to it, and add it to a project.
The cut, fill, and net volumes are properties that can be viewed by selecting
Surface Properties.

94 | Chapter 4 Surfaces Tutorials


The composite volume method uses the points from two surfaces, as well as any
location where the triangle edges between the two surfaces cross. The cut, fill,
and net volumes are calculated based on the elevation differences between
the two surfaces.

For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Calculating Surface
Volumes.

Exercise 1: Creating the Base and Comparison Surfaces


In this exercise, you will create base and comparison surfaces, from which to
derive volume calculations.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Creating Surfaces.

To create a base surface

1 Open Surface-6.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759).
The surface (Existing Ground without Berm) in this file is similar to the
one in Surface-5A.dwg except that there is no berm at the south end of
the surface. This surface will be the base surface for the volume
calculations.

2 Click Home tab ➤ Create Ground Data panel ➤ Surfaces


drop-down ➤ Create Surface .

Exercise 1: Creating the Base and Comparison Surfaces | 95


3 In the Create Surface dialog box, specify the following parameters:
■ Type: TIN Surface

■ Name: Berm

■ Description: Berm surface

■ Style: Standard

■ Render Material Style: ByLayer

4 Click OK.

5 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, expand the drawing Surface-6 and


the Surfaces collection.
The Berm surface is listed in the Surfaces collection, but it does not
contain any data. This will be the comparison surface for the volume
calculations.

Insert 3D polylines into the drawing

1 Click Insert tab ➤ Block panel ➤ Insert.

2 In the Insert dialog box, click Browse. Navigate to the tutorial drawings
folder (page 759). Select Berm Breaklines.dwg. Click Open.

3 In the Insert dialog box, specify the following parameters:

Insertion Point

■ Specify On Screen: Cleared

■ X: 0.0000

■ Y: 0.0000

■ Z: 0.0000

■ Explode: Selected

Scale

■ Specify On Screen: Cleared

■ X: 1.0000;

■ Uniform Scale: Selected

96 | Chapter 4 Surfaces Tutorials


Rotation

■ Specify On Screen: Cleared

■ Angle: 0

Explode

■ Explode: Selected

4 Click OK.
The polylines are inserted into the drawing.

Add 3D polylines to the surface as breaklines

1 On the command line, enter QSelect.

2 In the Quick Select dialog box, specify the following parameters:


■ Apply To: Entire Drawing

■ Object Type: 3D Polyline

■ Properties: Layer

■ Operator: = Equals

■ Value: C-TOPO-BRKL

■ Include In New Selection Set: Selected

3 Click OK.
The 3D polylines are selected in the drawing.

4 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, expand the Surfaces ➤ Berm surface


collection.

5 Under the Berm surface, expand the Definition collection. Right-click


Breaklines. Click Add.

6 In the Add Breaklines dialog box, specify the following parameters:


■ Description: Berm-Breaklines

■ Type: Standard

■ Mid-Ordinate Distance: 1.0000

7 Click OK.

Exercise 1: Creating the Base and Comparison Surfaces | 97


The previously selected 3D polylines are added to the surface definition
as breaklines. The surface displayed in the drawing updates.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Creating a TIN Volume Surface


(page 98).

Exercise 2: Creating a TIN Volume Surface


In this exercise, you will create a TIN volume surface. A TIN volume surface
is a persistent, differential surface object created from a composite of points
based on base and comparison surfaces.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Creating a TIN
Volume Surface.
This exercise continues from Exercise 1: Creating the Base and Comparison
Surfaces (page 95).

Create a TIN volume surface

NOTE This exercise uses Surface-6.dwg with the modifications you made in the
previous exercise.

1 Click Home tab ➤ Create Ground Data panel ➤ Surfaces


drop-down ➤ Create Surface .

2 In the Create Surface dialog box, specify the following parameters:


■ Type: TIN Volume Surface

■ Name: Berm Volume

■ Description: Berm volume difference surface

■ Style: Standard

■ Render Material: ByLayer

3 Under the Volume Surfaces property group, click <Base surface>. Click

4 In the Select Base Surface dialog box, select Existing Ground Without
Berm.

5 Click OK.

98 | Chapter 4 Surfaces Tutorials


6 Under the Volume Surface property group, click <Comparison surface>.

Click .

7 In the Select Comparison Surface dialog box, select Berm.

8 Click OK twice.

9 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, expand the Surfaces collection.

The Berm Volume surface is listed in the collection, with an icon to


indicate that it is a TIN volume surface.

View the volume surface statistics

1 On the Prospector tab, right-click the Berm Volume surface. Click Surface
Properties.

2 In the Surface Properties dialog box, click the Statistics tab. Expand the
Volume statistics to see the cut, fill, and net volumes.
Further exploration: If you want to add the data from the Statistics tab
to the drawing, right-click the statistics table and click Copy To Clipboard.
Then close the Surface Properties dialog box, zoom in to a clear space in
the drawing, right-click, and click Clipboard ➤ Paste. The entire contents
of the Statistics tab (General, TIN, and Volume) are pasted in. To edit the
text content and format, right-click and click MText Edit. Another useful
option is to paste the statistical data from the clipboard into a separate
spreadsheet.

3 If necessary, click OK to close the Surface Properties dialog box.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 3: Creating a Composite Volume


Calculation (page 99).

Exercise 3: Creating a Composite Volume Calculation


In this exercise, you will use the Composite Volume utility to calculate volume
information between two surfaces.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Calculating
Composite Volumes.
This exercise continues from Exercise 2: Creating a TIN Volume Surface (page
98) and presents an alternative method for generating the surface volume
statistics.

Exercise 3: Creating a Composite Volume Calculation | 99


Create composite volume information

NOTE This exercise uses Surface-6.dwg with the modifications you made in the
previous exercise.

1 Click Analyze tab ➤ Volumes And Materials panel ➤ Volumes


drop-down ➤ Volumes .

2 In the Composite Volumes vista, click Create New Volume Entry.

3 In the Base Surface column, click <select surface>. Select the Existing
Ground Without Berm surface from the list.

4 In the Comparison Surface column, click the <select surface>. Select the
Berm surface from the list.
After the surfaces are selected, the volumes are calculated and displayed
in the table. The Net Graph entry shows a graphical percentage
representation of the whole volume. A net fill condition is represented
by a green bar; a net cut condition by a red bar.

To continue to the next tutorial, go to Visualizing Surface Data (page 100).

Tutorial: Visualizing Surface Data


This tutorial demonstrates how to add multi-view blocks to a surface and
render it using a sample of the visualization techniques included with AutoCAD
Civil 3D.
AutoCAD Civil 3D uses the same rendering functionality as standard AutoCAD.
At a basic level, you can use the Render command to render your model
without applying any materials, adding any lights, or setting up a scene. In
this tutorial, you will create a basic rendering by applying a render material
to a surface. You will explore some of the basic render settings that are
available.
For more information, see the AutoCAD help topic Create Realistic Images and
Graphics.

Exercise 1: Moving Multi-View Blocks to a Surface


In this exercise, you will insert multi-view blocks into a drawing, and then
place them at the appropriate elevation on a surface.

100 | Chapter 4 Surfaces Tutorials


A multi-view block is an AutoCAD Civil 3D object that can have different
representations in different view directions.
Predefined multi-view blocks supplied with AutoCAD Civil 3D are available
in DesignCenter. These blocks represent various items, such as signs, building
footprints, trees, and shrubs. In DesignCenter, predefined multi-view blocks
are located in the Data folder (page 759) \Symbols\Mvblocks.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Multi-View Blocks.

Insert multi-view blocks into the drawing

1 Open Surface-7.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759).

2 Click View tab ➤ Views panel ➤ views list ➤ Plan Detail.


The drawing view shows a two-way road with a median separating the
lanes.

3 Click View tab ➤ Palettes panel ➤ Design Center.

4 In DesignCenter, navigate to the Data folder (page 759)


\Symbols\Mvblocks. Select the Mvblocks folder in the left pane.
In the right pane, examine the blocks that are available.

NOTE Before continuing with this exercise, either dock the DesignCenter

palette or click to autohide it.

5 In the right pane, select R4-7a Keep Right.dwg. Right-click. Click Insert As
Block.

6 In the Insert dialog box, specify the following parameters:


■ Specify On Screen: Selected

■ Insertion Point: Selected

■ Scale: Selected

■ Rotation: Selected

■ Explode: Cleared

7 Click OK.

Exercise 1: Moving Multi-View Blocks to a Surface | 101


8 When prompted to specify an insertion point in the drawing window,

click the symbol at the bottom of the median.

9 Press Enter to accept the default scale factor of 1.

10 When prompted to specify the rotation angle, zoom in to the insertion


point and rotate the block until the sign is parallel with the symbol. Click
to set the angle of rotation.

11 Repeat steps 6 and 7 to insert the Light Pole 01.dwg block.


When prompted to specify an insertion point in the drawing window,

click the symbol near the middle of the median. Press Enter to
accept the default scale factor and rotation angle.

Move multi-view blocks to the surface

1 Click View tab ➤ Views panel ➤ views list ➤ 3D Detail.


In the 3D view, notice that the street light block appears at the lower
portion of the drawing and is not at the appropriate surface elevation.
In the following steps, you will move both blocks onto the surface.

2 Click Surface tab ➤ Surface Tools panel ➤ ➤ Move Blocks To Surface


.

3 In the Move Blocks To Surface dialog box, in the Select Block Reference
Names field, select Light Pole 1 and R4-7a Keep Right.

102 | Chapter 4 Surfaces Tutorials


4 Click OK. Each selected block moves from its current elevation to the
surface elevation at the block’s insertion point.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Rendering a Surface (page 103).

Exercise 2: Rendering a Surface


In this exercise, you will use some of the visualization features in AutoCAD
Civil 3D to render a surface.
Like other AutoCAD Civil 3D objects, you must apply a render material to the
surface using the Surface Properties dialog box.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Object Rendering.
This exercise continues from Exercise 1: Moving Multi-View Blocks to a Surface
(page 100).

Apply a render material to the surface

NOTE This exercise uses Surface-7.dwg with the modifications you made in the
previous exercise.

1 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, expand the Surfaces collection.

2 Right-click the XGND surface. Click Surface Properties.

3 In the Surface Properties dialog box, on the Information tab, specify the
following parameters:
■ Render Material: Sitework.Planting.Sand
This render material displays contrast in the surface elevations.

■ Surface Style: Standard

4 Click OK.

Apply a visual style to the surface


Visual Styles give a fast, basic visualization of the surface that is useful for
on-screen presentation in AutoCAD Civil 3D.

1 Click View tab ➤ Views panel ➤ ➤ Visual Styles


drop-down ➤ Realistic.

Exercise 2: Rendering a Surface | 103


This visual style shades the surface and smooths the edges between
polygon faces. The render material that you applied to the surface is
displayed.

2 Click View tab ➤ Views panel ➤ ➤ Visual Styles


drop-down ➤ Conceptual.
This visual style shades the surface and smooths the edges between
polygon faces. The shading in this style uses the Gooch face style, a
transition between cool and warm colors rather than dark to light. The
effect is less realistic, but it can make the details of the model easier to
see.

Render the surface

1 On the command line, enter RPREF.


Examine the many render settings that are available, including variations
in image quality and output size. If you wanted to save the rendered
image to a file, you would click and use the Output File Name control
to specify a file name and destination.

2 Click .
The surface and blocks are rendered in the Render window. The effects
of rendering are more apparent in a drawing that has different render
materials applied to several surfaces and objects.

104 | Chapter 4 Surfaces Tutorials


To continue to the next tutorial, go to Obtaining an Aerial Image and Draping
It on a Surface (page 105).

Tutorial: Obtaining an Aerial Image and Draping


It on a Surface
This tutorial demonstrates how to drape an image on an AutoCAD Civil 3D
surface object.
You can drape an existing image on a surface. However, this tutorial
demonstrates how to obtain a useful image by using the Google Earth™
mapping service import/export features in AutoCAD Civil 3D.
The Drape Image command combines the following operations into a few
simple steps:

■ A new render material is created from the source image, with mapping
based on the scale, position, and rotation of the source image.

Tutorial: Obtaining an Aerial Image and Draping It on a Surface | 105


■ The new render material is applied to the selected surface object. Like other
render materials, the effect of the draped image is visible only when viewing
the image in 3D.

NOTE AutoCAD Civil 3D makes it easy to retrieve low-resolution, public image


and terrain data from Google Earth. While the data you can retrieve from Google
Earth may not be suitable for detailed design, it can be useful for project planning
and presentation.

For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topics Draping Images
on Surfaces and Google Earth Import and Export.

Exercise 1: Publishing Surface Data to Google Earth


In this exercise, you will publish the surface data of a drawing to Google Earth.
Then, Google Earth will use the coordinate system specified in the drawing
settings to retrieve an image of the area around the surface.
The coordinate system specified in the drawing settings will be used to
transform data as it is imported to or exported from Google Earth.

106 | Chapter 4 Surfaces Tutorials


NOTE For best results, make sure that you have Google Earth version 4.0 or later.

For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Publishing Civil
Data to Google Earth.

Publish surface data to Google Earth

1 Open Surface-8.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759).

2 Start Google Earth.

3 Click Output tab ➤ Publish panel ➤ Publish To Google Earth .

4 In the Publish AutoCAD DWG To Google Earth wizard, on the Describe


page, you can enter information that will be used to create a new,
temporary entry in the Temporary Places folder, in the Places pane in
Google Earth.
Specify the following parameters:
■ Name: Aerial Mapping_NH83F
This field is automatically populated by the drawing name.

■ Description: Aerial mapping of a project in New Boston, NH

■ Hyperlink: blank

5 Click Next.

6 On the Items page, select the Selected Model Space Entities option.

This makes the button available, which you use to pick the specific
objects in the drawing that you want to publish to Google Earth.

7 Click .

8 When you are prompted to select an object, pan and zoom to the upper
left corner of the surface. Click the red line that defines the extents of
the surface. If you pan or zoom to click the border, reset the zoom by
entering ‘Z, and then P on the command line. Press Enter to accept the
selection.

Exercise 1: Publishing Surface Data to Google Earth | 107


9 In the Publish AutoCAD DWG To Google Earth wizard, on the Items
page, notice that one entity (the surface extents boundary) has been
selected. Ensure that Publish Entity Information is selected.

10 Click Next.

11 On the Geo-Reference page, notice that the Drawing Coordinate System


Transform option is selected. NAD83 New Hampshire State Planes, US
Foot is listed as the zone. This information is taken directly from the
world coordinate system setting specified in the drawing settings. Notice
that if you select the User-Defined Transform option, you can manually
select coordinates. Ensure that the Drawing Coordinate System Transform
option is selected.

12 Click Next.

13 On the Nudge page, you can fine-tune the image location, using DWG
linear units. Select the Drape Entities On Ground option.

14 Click Next.

15 On the File page, you can specify a file location for the KMZ data file that

Google Earth creates. Click . Navigate to the My Civil Tutorial Data


folder (page 759). Click Save.

16 Click Publish. When the Publishing Status indicates that the model has
been 100% published, click View.

108 | Chapter 4 Surfaces Tutorials


Google Earth takes focus, panning and zooming to the specified
coordinates and displaying the polygon that defines the extents of the
surface. Notice that the name and description that you entered in the
Publish AutoCAD DWG To Google Earth wizard has been used to create
a new entry in the Temporary Places folder in the Google Earth Places
pane. When you exit Google Earth, you are prompted to specify whether
to save the new location to the My Places folder.

17 In the Google Earth window, in the Places pane, under Temporary Places,
clear the Aerial Mapping_NH83F check box.
Clearing this check box turns off the polygon that defines the extents of
the surface. The polygon was exported from AutoCAD Civil 3D so that
you can confirm the image location. Clearing the Aerial Mapping_NH83F

Exercise 1: Publishing Surface Data to Google Earth | 109


check box turns the polygon off, which prevents it from being imported
back into AutoCAD Civil 3D.

NOTE If Google Earth zooms past the polygon, expand the Temporary Places
➤ Aerial Mapping_NH83F ➤ Model ➤ Polyline collection. Double-click
Polyline to zoom to the extents of the polyline.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Importing a Google Earth Image


(page 110).

Exercise 2: Importing a Google Earth Image


In this exercise, you will import an aerial image from Google Earth into
AutoCAD Civil 3D.
To provide a useful source image, Google Earth must display the image from
directly above. If the image is tilted, it will still be captured by AutoCAD Civil
3D. However, it will not be a useful representation of the surface when it is
converted to a render material.
When the Google Earth image is imported into AutoCAD Civil 3D, it appears
in the drawing as a gray scale image object. The image is scaled by both the
linear units in the drawing and the extents of the latitude/longitude of the
image. The image aspect ratio matches that of the image displayed in the
Google Earth window. AutoCAD Civil 3D automatically generates a name for
the image, using the first three letters of the drawing file name and a unique
ID number. The image is saved in the same directory as the drawing file.
When the image is draped on the surface, a new render material is created
from the image, and the render material is applied to the surface. If the image
is larger than the surface, the image is clipped to the extents of the surface
object. If multiple, smaller images are needed to cover a surface, you must
combine them into a single image.

TIP If you do not want to get your surface image from Google Earth, you can use
Autodesk Raster Design to prepare images from other sources. Using Raster Design,
you can
■ combine multiple images into a single image.

■ convert images to a format (such as BMP, DIB, GIF, JPG, PCX, PNG, RLE,
TGA, or TIF) that is suitable for use as a render material.

■ orient and scale an image appropriately for a drawing.

110 | Chapter 4 Surfaces Tutorials


For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Importing a Google
Earth Image to AutoCAD Civil 3D.
This exercise continues from Exercise 1: Publishing Surface Data to Google
Earth (page 106).

Import a Google Earth image

NOTE This exercise uses Surface-8.dwg with the modifications you made in the
previous exercise.

1 In Google Earth, ensure that the image is viewed from directly above.
If the Google Earth navigation controls are not visible, hover the cursor
over the compass at the upper right-hand corner of the screen:

Compass

Navigation Controls

■ To reset the tilt so that the image is viewed from directly above,

double-click . Alternatively, you can press the R key to reset the


tilt.

Exercise 2: Importing a Google Earth Image | 111


■ To reorient the view so that North is oriented toward the top of the

screen, click . Alternatively, you can press the N key to reset the
North orientation.

■ To pan back to the view that was originally published, double-click


the appropriate link under Temporary Places.

2 Click Insert tab ➤ Import panel ➤ Google Earth drop-down ➤ Google


Earth Image .

3 When prompted to select a coordinate system for image location, press


Enter to accept the default Coordinate System selection.
The gray scale Google Earth image appears in the drawing window in the
appropriate location under the surface object. The image was placed on
the current layer, which is named Image in the current drawing.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 3: Draping an Image on a Surface


(page 113).

112 | Chapter 4 Surfaces Tutorials


Exercise 3: Draping an Image on a Surface
In this exercise, you will drape an image onto a surface, creating a render
material from the image.
First, you will review a surface style to learn about some common settings that
provide an acceptable view of the draped image on the surface. When you
drape an image on a surface, the image is applied to the surface as a render
material. However, it is not evident that you have applied a render material
when you view the surface in plan view. The surface style must be set up to
view the surface in model.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Draping Images
On Surfaces.
This exercise continues from Exercise 2: Importing a Google Earth Image (page
110).

Examine the surface style

NOTE This exercise uses Surface-8.dwg with the modifications you made in the
previous exercise.

1 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, under the drawing name, expand


the Surfaces collection. Right-click Aerial Mapping. Click Edit Surface
Style.
In the Surface Style dialog box, on the Display tab, examine the current
surface style, 5’ Contours. Notice that the style displays the surface border
and major and minor contours when the surface is viewed in plan view.

2 From the View Direction list, select Model.


Notice that the surface style is set to display only triangles when the
surface is viewed in model view.

3 Click the Triangles tab.


Notice that the Triangle Display Mode is set to Exaggerate Elevation and
the Exaggerate Triangles By Scale Factor is set to 3.000.
These settings specify that when the surface is displayed in model view,
the triangle elevations are exaggerated by a factor of three. The
exaggeration makes the variations of the surface more obvious than if
the surface was not exaggerated.

4 Click Cancel.

Exercise 3: Draping an Image on a Surface | 113


Drape the image on the surface

1 Click Surface tab ➤ Surface Tools panel ➤ Drape Image .

2 In the Drape Image dialog box, select the following information from
the Image and Surface lists. All the images and surfaces available in the
current drawing appear in the lists. Alternatively, you can click to pick
the image or surface directly in the drawing window.
■ Image: SurXXX

■ Surface: Aerial Mapping

NOTE The image name is automatically generated when it is imported into


AutoCAD Civil 3D. Your image name and render material name may differ
from the names that are shown in this tutorial.

The Render Material Name field is populated with an automatically


generated name (Aerial Mapping_SurXXX_RenderMaterial). You can
change this name as desired, but accept the default for this exercise.

3 Click OK.
The image is draped on the surface, but it is not evident in plan view.
Next, you will hide the image, and then view the surface in model view.

4 In the drawing window, select the image. Right-click. Click Isolate


Objects ➤ Hide Objects.

NOTE To make the image reappear, right-click in the drawing area and click
Isolate Objects ➤ End Object Isolation.

5 Click View tab ➤ Views panel ➤ views list ➤ SE Isometric.


This selection specifies an appropriate angle at which to view the surface
in 3D.

6 On the command line, enter Zoom. When prompted, enter O to select


an object.

7 When prompted to select an object, in the drawing window, click the


surface. Press Enter to accept the selection.

114 | Chapter 4 Surfaces Tutorials


8 Click View tab ➤ Views panel ➤ ➤ Visual Styles
drop-down ➤ Realistic.
The gray scale Google Earth image appears draped over the surface. Notice
that because the image was larger than the surface, the image has been
clipped to the extents of the surface.

Exercise 3: Draping an Image on a Surface | 115


9 On the command line, enter Materials.

10 On the Materials palette, notice that a new render material has been
created and is using the imported image as a diffuse map. The render
material name and image name correspond to the names that you
specified.

116 | Chapter 4 Surfaces Tutorials


Survey Tutorials
5
These tutorials will get you started working with the AutoCAD Civil 3D survey features.
AutoCAD Civil 3D contains a complete set of tools that surveyors can use to download and
process survey information, perform adjustments on network and traverse data, and import
survey points into a AutoCAD Civil 3D drawing.
An easy-to-use wizard enables you to import survey data from various data sources, including
points in the current drawing, and field book, LandXML, and point files. When the field crew
codes survey points using a predetermined format, a linework code set can be used to process
the linework quickly either during or after import.
The survey features also provide options for detailing points with figures and line work. Other
options provide the capability of calculating directions based on astronomic observations.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Understanding Survey.

NOTE All drawings used in these tutorials are available in the tutorial drawings folder (page
759). If you want to save your work from these tutorials, save the drawings to the My Civil
Tutorial Data folder (page 759) so that you do not overwrite the original drawings.

Tutorial: Survey Setup


This tutorial demonstrates how to access the survey functionality and define
and manage the survey settings in AutoCAD Civil 3D.
In the following exercises, you will specify survey project settings by setting up
a survey database, equipment definition, figure prefix database, individual user
settings, survey styles, and linework code set.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Survey Databases.

117
Exercise 1: Creating a Survey Database
In this exercise, you will open the Survey tab in Toolspace, create a local survey
database, and then open a drawing to display the survey data.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Survey Database.

Create a survey database

1 Open Survey-1.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759).

2 Click Home tab ➤ Palettes panel ➤ Open Survey Toolspace .

3 In Toolspace, on the Survey tab, right-click Survey Databases. Click New


Local Survey Database.

4 In the New Local Survey Database dialog box, enter Survey 1 for the
database name. Click OK.
The newly created database is added to the Survey Databases collection
on the Survey tab. Empty items that appear in the collection include
Import Events, Networks, Figures, and Survey Points. These collections
are populated when you add or create survey data.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Setting the Equipment and Figure


Prefix Databases (page 118).

Exercise 2: Setting the Equipment and Figure Prefix


Databases
In this exercise, you will create new survey equipment and figure prefix
databases and definitions.
Equipment definitions specify the values associated with a specific surveying
instrument, such as the standard deviations associated with the measuring
capabilities of the instrument.
Figure prefixes specify the layer that a figure is drawn on, how a figure is stylized,
and whether figures are created as breaklines and lot lines. When figures are
created, they are matched based on their names and the prefix names. All
figures that match a specific prefix are assigned the properties of the prefix.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topics Survey Equipment
Database and Survey Figure Prefix Database.

118 | Chapter 5 Survey Tutorials


This exercise continues from Exercise 1: Creating a Survey Database (page 118).

Create an equipment database

NOTE This exercise uses Survey-1.dwg with the modifications you made in the
previous exercise.

1 In Toolspace, on the Survey tab, right-click the Equipment Databases


collection. Click New.

2 In the New Equipment Database dialog box, enter Survey 1 for the new
equipment database and click OK.
The database is created with the default equipment definition named
Sample, which is displayed in the Equipment Databases collection.

Create an equipment definition

1 Right-click the Survey 1 equipment database. Click New.

2 In the New Equipment dialog box, under the Miscellaneous property, for
Name, enter Survey 1.

NOTE The Standard Deviations settings determine the accuracy of the survey
observations based on the equipment that measured them.

3 Click OK.

4 In Toolspace, on the Survey tab, expand the Survey 1 equipment database.


Right-click the Survey 1 equipment definition. Click Make Current.
In Toolspace, the current equipment database name and definition name
are displayed in bold text.

Create a figure prefix database

1 In Toolspace, on the Survey tab, right-click the Figure Prefix Databases


collection. Click New.

2 In the New Figure Prefix Database dialog box, enter Survey 1 for the new
figure prefix database and click OK.

Create a figure prefix definition

1 In Toolspace, on the Survey tab, expand the Figure Prefix Databases


collection. Right-click the figure prefix database Survey 1. Click New.

Exercise 2: Setting the Equipment and Figure Prefix Databases | 119


2 In the New Figure Prefix dialog box, specify the following parameters:
■ Name: LOT

■ Lot Line: Selected

■ Site: Survey 1
All figures that match the LOT prefix name will have the Lot Line
setting set to Yes. When the figure is inserted into the drawing,
AutoCAD Civil 3D will create lot lines in the drawing in the Survey
1 site.

3 Click OK.

4 In Toolspace, on the Survey tab, right-click the Survey 1 figure prefix


database. Click Make Current.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 3: Adjusting and Verifying Settings


(page 120).

Exercise 3: Adjusting and Verifying Settings


In this exercise, you will view and adjust several types of survey settings.
Survey user settings are specific to a Windows user login account and affect
only the survey features, and not the database or drawing data.
Survey database settings are specific to the survey features of an AutoCAD
Civil 3D survey database.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Survey Settings.
This exercise continues from Exercise 2: Setting the Equipment and Figure
Prefix Databases (page 118).

Specify user settings

NOTE This exercise uses Survey-1.dwg with the modifications you made in the
previous exercise.

1 In Toolspace, on the Survey tab, click .

2 In the Survey User Settings dialog box, specify the following parameters:
■ Miscellaneous ➤ Use External Editor: Yes

■ Network Preview: All Selected

120 | Chapter 5 Survey Tutorials


■ Setup Preview: All Selected

■ Figure Preview: All Selected

Selecting the check boxes enables the previewing of all survey components
in the Toolspace Survey tab.

3 Click OK.

Specify survey database settings

1 In Toolspace, on the Survey tab, in the Survey Databases collection,


right-click the Survey 1 database. Click Edit Survey Database Settings.

2 In the Survey Database Settings dialog box, under Precision, specify the
following parameters:
■ Angle: 4

■ Distance: 3

■ Elevation: 3

■ Coordinate: 4

■ Latitude And Longitude: 8

These precision settings are independent of the Drawing Settings precision


settings and affect all aspects of the user interface that displays the survey
data.

3 Under Least Squares Analysis Defaults, specify the following parameters:


■ Network Adjustment Type: 3-Dimensional

■ Confidence Level: 99% confidence

■ Perform Blunder Detection: Yes

NOTE The Error Tolerance values specify the acceptable error values for the
survey measurement. The values in this collection correspond to the units of
measure that are specified in the Units collection. For more information, see
the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Setting Error Tolerance.

4 Click OK.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 4: Setting Survey Styles (page 122).

Exercise 3: Adjusting and Verifying Settings | 121


Exercise 4: Setting Survey Styles
In this exercise, you will review the survey network styles and create a figure
style.
The survey styles control the way that survey features are displayed in the
drawing.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Survey Styles and
Display.
This exercise continues from Exercise 3: Adjusting and Verifying Settings (page
120).

Review the network style settings

NOTE This exercise uses Survey-1.dwg with the modifications you made in the
previous exercise.

1 In Toolspace, on the Settings tab, expand the Survey ➤ Network Styles


collection.
This collection contains all the existing network styles in the drawing.

2 Right-click the Standard network style. Click Edit.

3 In the Network Style dialog box, click the Components tab.


Notice that you can set different marker styles for known control points,
unknown control points, tolerance error points, and sideshot points.

4 Click OK.

Create a figure style

1 Right-click the Figure Styles collection. Click New.

2 In the Figure Style dialog box, on the Information tab, enter Building for
the figure style name.

3 Click the Display tab.

4 In the Component Display table, change the color for the Figure Lines.
To do this, click in the Color column. In the Select Color dialog box, in
the Color field, enter 11. Click OK.

5 Click OK.

122 | Chapter 5 Survey Tutorials


To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 5: Setting Up a Linework Code Set
(page 123).

Exercise 5: Setting Up a Linework Code Set


In this exercise, you will learn how to set up a linework code set to interpret
the field codes that the survey field crew enters into a data collector.
When field-coded data is imported into AutoCAD Civil 3D, the linework code
set interprets the syntax of simple field codes that are contained within survey
point descriptions. The linework is connected between similar points. You
will use a linework code set to define linework from imported survey data in
the Importing Field-Coded Survey Data (page 124) exercise.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Survey Field to
Finish.
This exercise continues from Exercise 4: Setting Survey Styles (page 122).

Examine the default linework code set

1 In Windows Explorer, navigate to the tutorial folder (page 759). Open


Survey-1.fbk using a text editor.

2 In Windows Explorer, navigate to the tutorial folder (page 759). Open


Survey-X.fbk using a text editor.

3 In the text editor, for Survey-X.fbk, highlight the 34th and 35th lines,
which contain the following code:
BEGIN TC1
FC1 VA 105 19.192302 57.714 88.440647 "TC1"

4 In the text editor, for Survey-1.fbk, highlight the 24th line, which contains
the following code:
FC1 VA 105 19.192302 57.714 88.440647 "TC1 B H0.5 H-0.1 V-0.5"

5 In Toolspace, on the Survey tab, expand the Linework Code Sets


collection. Right-click Sample. Click Edit.
The field codes for the Sample linework code set are displayed in the Edit
Linework Code Set dialog box. Each property has a user-definable code
assigned to it. Compare the codes with the line you selected in the text
editor.

Exercise 5: Setting Up a Linework Code Set | 123


The selected lines define the beginning of a top of curb figure:
■ In Survey-X.fbk, the selected lines consist of the feature code (BEGIN
TC1), FC1 VA 105 horizontal angle, slope distance, zenith angle, and
description. The point description contains the raw point description
(TC1) and XYZ coordinates.

■ In Survey-1.fbk, the selected line contains information that is similar


to Survey-X.fbk. Notice that horizontal and vertical offset values are
also present. If you examine the remainder of the files, you will see
that the format used by Survey-1.fbk is simpler and more flexible than
Survey-X.fbk.

Compare the characters in Survey-1.fbk to the values in the Edit Linework


Code Set dialog box. Under Special Codes, notice the codes that are
defined for Begin, Horizontal Offset, and Vertical Offset. Each of these
codes is displayed in the currently selected line. The current linework
code set will interpret this survey point as being the beginning of the
survey TC1 figure, with two horizontal offsets and one vertical offset.

6 Close the text editors and Edit Linework Code Set dialog box.

To continue to the next tutorial, go to Importing Survey Data (page 124).

Tutorial: Importing Survey Data


This tutorial demonstrates how to import survey data into a drawing, modify
the data, and then reprocess the data.
You will input survey data from a field book file, which is a text file that
contains survey observation measurements. Typically, you download data
from a data collector, and then create a field book file to import.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Understanding
SurveyUnderstanding Survey.

Exercise 1: Importing Field-Coded Survey Data


In this exercise, you will import survey data from an existing field book file
that contains linework codes that can be interpreted by a linework code set.
The field book file that you will import contains the linework codes that you
examined in the Setting Up a Linework Code Set (page 123) exercise.

124 | Chapter 5 Survey Tutorials


For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Importing Survey
DataImporting Survey Data.

Set up the project

1 Open Survey-2A.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759)
This drawing is empty, but has point and figure styles that are appropriate
for this exercise.

2 Click Home tab ➤ Create Ground Data panel ➤ Import Survey Data
.

Create a survey database

1 In the Import Survey Data wizard, on the Specify Database page, under
Survey Databases, select Survey 1.
If you need to create a survey database, you can click Create New Survey
Database.

2 Click Edit Survey Database Settings.


You use the Survey Database Settings dialog box to define the parameters
of the survey database. Notice that the settings match those you specified
in the Adjusting and Verifying Settings (page 120) exercise.

3 Click OK.

4 Click Next.

Specify the file to import

1 On the Specify Data Source page, under Data Source Type, select Field
Book File.

2 Under Source File, click .

3 In the Field Book Filename dialog box, navigate to the tutorial folder (page
759).

4 Select Survey-1.fbk. Click Open.

5 Click Next.

Exercise 1: Importing Field-Coded Survey Data | 125


Create a survey network

1 On the Specify Network page, click Create New Network.

2 In the New Network dialog box, for Name, enter Survey Network 1.

3 Click OK.

4 Click Next.

Specify import options

1 On the Import Options page, specify the following parameters:


■ Current Equipment Database: Sample

■ Current Equipment: Sample

■ Show Interactive Graphics: Yes (Selected)

■ Current Figure Prefix Database: Sample

■ Process Linework During Import: Yes (Selected)

■ Current Linework Code Set: Sample

■ Process Linework Sequence: By Import Order

■ Assign Offset To Point Identifiers: Yes (Selected)

■ Point Identifier Offset: 10000

■ Insert Network Object: Yes (Selected)

■ Insert Figure Objects: Yes (Selected)

■ Insert Survey Points: Yes (Selected)

Accept the remaining default values.

2 Click Finish.
The survey data is imported, and the drawing looks like this:

126 | Chapter 5 Survey Tutorials


3 Click ➤ Save As.

4 Navigate to the My Civil Tutorial Data folder (page 759). For File Name,
enter Survey-2B.dwg. Click Save.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Updating Imported Survey Data


(page 127).

Exercise 2: Updating Imported Survey Data


In this exercise, you will modify some of the imported survey data, and then
reprocess the linework to apply the changes.
You will learn about import events, which are a reference to the original survey
data file that was imported into the survey database. Import events are useful
when you need to determine how the survey data was originally imported
and the individual points and figures that were imported during that event.
Import events provide a convenient way to remove, re-import, and reprocess
the survey data referenced within the event.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Import Events.

Exercise 2: Updating Imported Survey Data | 127


Reprocess the survey points

NOTE This exercise uses Survey-2B.dwg, which you saved in the My Civil Tutorial
Data folder (page 759) during the previous exercise. If you did not do this, you can
use the copy of Survey-2B.dwg that is in the tutorial drawings folder (page 759),
but you will get duplicate objects when you update the survey data.

1 In Toolspace, on the Survey tab, expand the Survey Databases ➤ Survey


1 ➤ Import Events collection.

NOTE If you cannot expand the collection, right-click the database name
and click Open Survey Database.

2 Select Survey-1.fbk.
The import options that were specified when the survey data was imported
are displayed in the Toolspace list view. Notice that Point Identifier Offset
is 10000. This indicates that as each survey point was imported, 10000
was added to the original point number. You will remove this offset value
in the following steps.

3 Under the Survey-1.fbk import event, select Survey Points.


In the Toolspace list view, compare the values in the Number column
with the values in the Original Number column. The Number column
reflects the offset of 10000 that was added to the point numbers when
they were imported.

4 Right-click Survey-1.fbk. Click Re-Import.

5 In the Re-Import Field Book dialog box, clear the Assign Offset To Point
Identifiers check box.

6 Click OK.

NOTE If you are prompted to abort the import process, click No.

The points are re-imported, and the linework is reprocessed.

Update and reprocess a survey figure

1 In Toolspace, on the Survey tab, expand the Survey Databases ➤ Survey


1 ➤ Figures collection.

2 Select BLDG7. Right-click. Click Zoom To.

128 | Chapter 5 Survey Tutorials


The BLDG7 figure is displayed in the drawing. The ending line segments
are incorrect, and the figure is not closed. You will edit the survey point
to correct the figure.

3 In the drawing, select survey point 804.

Exercise 2: Updating Imported Survey Data | 129


4 Click Survey tab ➤ Modify panel ➤ Survey Point Properties .
In the Description, two errors are evident. First, a - (hyphen) was omitted
from one of the values, which caused the line to extend in the wrong
direction. Second, the close code is CLO, while the close code specified
in the linework code set is CLS.

5 In the Survey Point Properties dialog box, change the Description to the
following:
BLDG7 RT -36 12 CLS

6 Click OK.
You are prompted to select another survey point. The command persists,
so you can continue modifying survey point properties, as necessary.

7 Press Enter to end the command.


You are prompted to update the linework associated with the survey
points.

130 | Chapter 5 Survey Tutorials


NOTE All survey points must be reprocessed because any point potentially
can contribute to the definition of any generated figure.

8 Click Yes.

9 In the Process Linework dialog box, clear the Insert Survey Points check
box.
In this case, it is only necessary to update the figure linework. The point
coordinates did not change.

10 Click OK.
The linework is reprocessed, and the survey figure is corrected.

11 Click ➤ Save As.

12 Navigate to the My Civil Tutorial Data folder (page 759). For File Name,
enter Survey-3.dwg. Click Save.

To continue to the next tutorial, go to Viewing and Editing Survey Data (page
132).

Exercise 2: Updating Imported Survey Data | 131


Tutorial: Viewing and Editing Survey Data
This tutorial demonstrates how to view and modify survey data in your
drawing.

NOTE Before performing the steps in this tutorial, you must have already set up
the survey database. For more information, see the Survey Setup (page 117) tutorial.

You will use the Survey tab in Toolspace to view and manage survey data,
such as points, setups, directions, and figures.

NOTE The Survey Data Collection Link extension can be used to transfer and
convert raw data to an FBK file.

For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Adding and Editing
Survey Data.

Exercise 1: Viewing Survey Data


In this exercise, you will use the Toolspace Survey tab and panorama vistas
to view some of the data that you imported from the field book file.
You will also browse to the newly created network and figure objects in the
AutoCAD Civil 3D Prospector tab and drawing.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic The Toolspace
Survey Tab.

View the survey data

NOTE This exercise uses Survey-3.dwg, which you saved in the My Civil Tutorial
Data folder (page 759) during the previous exercise. If you did not do this, you can
use the copy of Survey-3.dwg that is in the tutorial drawings folder (page 759), but
you will get duplicate objects when you update the survey data.

1 In Toolspace, on the Survey tab, expand Survey Databases ➤ Survey


1 ➤ Networks ➤ Survey Network 1 to display the collections of survey
data, including control points, directions, and setups.

NOTE If you cannot expand the collection, right-click the database name
and click Open Survey Database.

2 To view the control points, click the Control Points collection.


The control points are displayed in the Toolspace list view.

132 | Chapter 5 Survey Tutorials


NOTE By default, if the Toolspace is docked, the list view is the lower part
of the Toolspace.

3 To view the setups, click the Setups collection and expand it.
The setups are displayed in the Toolspace list view.

4 To view observations for a setup, right-click the setup and click Edit
Observations.
The Observations Editor vista is displayed with all the observations for
the selected setup.

NOTE The observations for the setup are highlighted in the drawing.

5 Click to close the Observations Editor.

6 To view the figures, click the Figures collection and expand it.
The figures are also displayed in the Toolspace list view.

NOTE If a is displayed beside the Figures collection, click the collection


to refresh it and then click to view all the figures.

7 In Toolspace, click the Prospector tab and expand the Survey collection
to display the collections of survey networks and figures.
These collections are for the survey network and figure drawing objects
as opposed to the survey database data that is displayed on the Survey
tab.

Browse to the survey data

1 To view a figure in the drawing, on the Prospector tab, expand the Figures
collection, right-click the figure name, for example BLDG1, and click
Zoom To.
The drawing zooms to the selected figure.

2 In the drawing, select the figure that you zoomed to. Right-click. Click
Browse To Survey Data.
The Toolspace switches to the Survey tab with the figure selected. The
survey data for the figure is displayed in the list view.

Exercise 1: Viewing Survey Data | 133


3 In the drawing window, hover your cursor over one of the survey network
components extending from BLDG1. Notice that the properties for the
network object are displayed in the tooltip.

4 Right-click the network object. Click Browse To Survey Network.


In Toolspace, on the Survey tab, the survey network is selected. The survey
data for the survey network is displayed in the list view.

5 Ctrl+click one of the survey network components shown in the previous


image. Right-click. Click Browse To Survey Data.
The related setup is highlighted in Toolspace on the Survey tab.

6 In Toolspace on the Survey tab, right-click the selected station. Click Edit
Observations.
The Observations Editor vista is displayed in the Panorama window. You
can use this vista to view and edit the survey observations for the selected
setup.

7 Click to dismiss the Observations Editor vista.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Editing a Figure (page 134).

Exercise 2: Editing a Figure


In this exercise, you will edit a figure to change its display in the drawing.

134 | Chapter 5 Survey Tutorials


For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Editing Figures.
This exercise continues from Exercise 1: Viewing Survey Data (page 132).

Edit a figure

NOTE This exercise uses Survey-3.dwg with the modifications you made in the
previous exercise.

1 In Toolspace, on the Survey tab, expand the database Survey 1 to display


the Figures collection.

NOTE If a is displayed beside the Figures collection, click the collection


to refresh it and then click to view all the figures.

2 Right-click the figure BLDG1. Click Edit.

3 In the Figures Editor vista, for Style, select Building.


The entire row is displayed as bold. The bold row indicates that a change
has been made to the figure data but it has not been saved to the survey
database.

4 Click to save the change to the survey database.

5 Click to close the Figures Editor vista.

6 On the Toolspace Survey tab, right-click the BLDG1 figure. Click Remove
From Drawing.
The figure is deleted from the drawing.

7 Right-click BLDG1 again and click Insert Into Drawing.


The BLDG1 figure is displayed with the new style.

To continue to the next tutorial, go to Analyzing and Reducing Survey Data


(page 135).

Tutorial: Analyzing and Reducing Survey Data


This tutorial demonstrates how to analyze and reduce survey data.
In the following exercises, you will use the Survey Command Window to
query survey data. Then, you will look at two ways to reduce the survey data.

Tutorial: Analyzing and Reducing Survey Data | 135


You can reduce survey data by:

■ Adjusting a traverse loop using the standard compass rule method or other
adjustment methods.

■ Using the network least squares adjustment method.

Each method produces slightly different results. The standard compass rule
adjustment method adjusts the traverse loop and sideshots. The least squares
method adjusts each of the observations so that the sum of the residuals is at
a minimum.

NOTE Before performing the steps in this tutorial, you must have already created
the survey database Survey 1 and imported the field book file Survey-1.fbk. For
more information, see the Survey Setup (page 117) and Importing and Viewing
Survey Data (page 132) tutorials.

For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Survey Analysis
and Output.

Exercise 1: Querying Survey Data


In this exercise, you will use the Survey Command Window to perform a
query on the survey data.
You will use the Inverse Points command to determine the direction and
distance between two points.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Survey Command
Window.
This exercise continues from the Importing and Viewing Survey Data (page
132) tutorial.

Specify the survey database settings

1 Open Survey-3.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759)
This drawing contains the survey network that was created in the
Importing Field-Coded Survey Data (page 124) exercise.

2 In Toolspace, on the Survey tab, expand the Survey Databases collection.

3 If the database Survey 1 is not open (that is, it is not displayed with a
next to it), right-click and click Open Survey Database.

136 | Chapter 5 Survey Tutorials


NOTE By default, to save on resource usage, when you start AutoCAD Civil
3D, all survey databases are displayed in a closed state.

4 Right-click Survey 1. Click Edit Survey Database Settings.

5 In the Survey Database Settings dialog box, expand the Survey Command
Window property group. Specify the following parameters:
■ Point Course Echo: Yes

■ Figure Course Echo: Yes

■ Point Coordinate Echo: Yes

■ Figure Coordinate Echo: Yes

■ Command Echo: Yes

These settings determine what information will be displayed in the Survey


Command Window.

6 Click OK.

Query data using the Survey Command Window

1 On the Survey tab, expand the Networks collection. Right-click Survey


Network 1. Click Survey Command Window.

2 In the Survey Command Window, click View menu ➤ Zoom To Point.

3 In the Enter Point dialog box, enter 1. Click OK.


The drawing zooms to point 1.

4 Click Point Information menu ➤ Inverse Points.

5 In the Point Information - Inverse Points dialog box, enter:


■ Start Point: 1

■ Ahead Point: 2

6 Click OK.
The following information, which describes the location of each point
and the direction and distance between the points, is displayed in the
command output area:
!

Exercise 1: Querying Survey Data | 137


! POINT 1 NORTH: 5000.0000 EAST: 5000.0000 EL:
263.6500
!
! Distance: 300.000 Course: N 72-56-33 E
!
! POINT 2 NORTH: 5087.9995 EAST: 5286.8036 EL:
259.9600

7 Close the Survey Command Window.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Performing Traverse Analysis (page


138).

Exercise 2: Performing Traverse Analysis


In this exercise, you will reduce some of the survey data using the traverse
analysis Compass Rule adjustment method.
The Compass Rule is a method of corrections. It assumes that the closing errors
are as much due to errors in observed angles as by the errors in measured
distances. The closing errors in latitude and departure are distributed according
to the ratio of the length of the line to the total length of the traverse.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Traverses.
This exercise continues from Exercise 1: Querying Survey Data (page 136).

Set up a traverse

NOTE This exercise uses Survey-3.dwg with the modifications you made in the
previous exercise.

1 In Toolspace, on the Survey tab, expand the Survey Databases ➤ Survey


1 ➤ Networks ➤ Survey Network 1. Right-click the Traverses collection.
Click New.

2 In the New Traverse dialog box, for Name, enter Traverse 1. Click OK.

3 On the Survey tab, right-click Traverse 1, and click Properties.

4 In the Traverse Properties dialog box, specify the following parameters:


■ Initial Station: 1

■ Initial Backsight: 1000

■ Stations: 2,3,4,5,6

138 | Chapter 5 Survey Tutorials


■ Final Foresight: 6000

5 Click OK.

Run a traverse analysis

1 On the Survey tab, right-click Traverse 1. Click Traverse Analysis.

2 In the Traverse Analysis dialog box, specify the following parameters:


■ Horizontal Adjustment Method: Compass Rule

■ Vertical Adjustment Method: Length Weighted Distribution


Use the default values for the other properties.

3 Click OK.
The analysis runs, and the following files are displayed in the ASCII text
editor:
■ Traverse 1 Raw Closure.trv: Displays the horizontal closure and angular
error.

■ Traverse 1 Vertical Adjustment.trv: Displays a report of raw and adjusted


elevations from the vertical adjustment methods.

■ Traverse 1 Balanced Angles.trv: Displays the adjusted station coordinates


derived from balancing the angular error and horizontal closure with
no angular error.

■ Traverse 1.lso: Displays the adjusted station coordinates based on the


Horizontal Adjustment Type setting (Compass Rule).

4 Close all the text files.


A dialog box notifies you that you should use the Process Linework
command to update the figures with the new traverse information.
Reprocessing the survey linework is a manual process. You will see how
to update the linework in the following steps.

5 In the Survey Network Updated dialog box, click Close.

6 In Toolspace, on the Survey tab, under Import Events, right-click


Survey-1.fbk. Click Process Linework.
The Process Linework dialog box enables you to reprocess the survey
network linework connectivity after you make corrections to the survey
data.

Exercise 2: Performing Traverse Analysis | 139


When the survey database is updated following a traverse analysis, the
following adjustments to the data that references the traverse take place:
■ Observed station points are updated and added to the Control Points
collection.

■ All sides shots from adjusted setups within the traverse are updated.

■ All figures that reference points within the traverse are updated.

■ Any of the above data that is displayed in the current drawing is also
updated.

Because you will use this survey database to perform other analyses in
later exercises, you will not reprocess the linework.

7 Click Cancel.

8 In Toolspace, on the Survey tab, select the Control Points collection.


Right-click. Click Reset Adjusted Coordinates.
This action resets the adjusted coordinates, enabling you to continue
with the next analysis.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 3: Performing Least Squares Analysis


(page 140).

Exercise 3: Performing Least Squares Analysis


In this exercise, you will reduce the survey information using the least squares
adjustment method.
The least squares method calculates the most probable value for each
observation. The values are calculated by adjusting each of the observations
simultaneously so that the sum of the squares of the residuals (the difference
between measured and adjusted observations) is at a minimum.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Least Squares
Analysis.
This exercise continues from Exercise 2: Performing Traverse Analysis (page
138).

140 | Chapter 5 Survey Tutorials


Modify the survey network style

NOTE This exercise uses Survey-3.dwg with the modifications you made in the
previous exercise.

1 In Toolspace, on the Settings tab, expand the Survey ➤ Network Styles


collection.
This collection contains the existing network styles in the drawing.

2 Right-click the Standard network style. Click Edit.

3 In the Network Style dialog box, click the Components tab.

4 Under Error Ellipse, set the Error Ellipse Scale Factor to 10000.00.

5 Click OK.

Run the least squares analysis

1 In Toolspace, on the Survey tab, expand the Survey Databases ➤ Survey


1 ➤ Networks collection. Right-click the network Survey Network 1. Click
Least Squares Analysis ➤ Perform Analysis.

2 In the Least Squares Analysis dialog box, under Input, specify the
following parameters:
■ Create Input File: Selected

■ Input File Name: Survey Network 1

■ Network Adjustment Type: 3-Dimensional

Use the default values for the other settings.

3 Click OK. If prompted, click Yes to overwrite the existing Network File.
The analysis runs, the network and drawing updates, and the following
files are displayed in the ASCII text editor:
■ <survey network>.lsi: Displays the initial station coordinates and
elevations. The angle and distance information for each station, as
well as the standard errors for angles and distances are also displayed.

■ <survey network>.lso: Displays the results of the calculations as well


as the adjusted coordinate information.

4 When you have finished reviewing the least squares calculation data,
close the text files.

Exercise 3: Performing Least Squares Analysis | 141


5 To view an error ellipse, on the Survey tab, expand the Survey Network
1 ➤ Control Points collection. Right-click 2. Click Zoom To.
The drawing zooms to the point and ellipse.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 4: Translating a Survey Database (page


142).

Exercise 4: Translating a Survey Database


In this exercise, you will translate the contents of a survey database from
assumed coordinates to that of known coordinates.
This command is useful when you must move all the data in the survey
database from an assumed location to a known location.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Translating a
Survey Database.
This exercise continues from Exercise 3: Performing Least Squares Analysis
(page 140).

Examine the contents of a survey database

NOTE This exercise uses Survey-3.dwg with the modifications you made in the
previous exercise.

1 In Toolspace, on the Survey tab, expand the Survey Databases ➤ Survey


1 ➤ Networks ➤ Survey Network 1 collections.

2 Click the Setups collection.


In the list view, examine the elevation values of the following setups:
■ Station Point 1, Backsight Point 1000: Elevation = 263.650

■ Station Point 2, Backsight Point 1: Elevation = 259.960

■ Station Point 3, Backsight Point 2: Elevation = 257.438

For this exercise, you will assume that the elevation value for Station
Point 1, Backsight Point 1000, which is at Easting 5000 and Northing
5000, is 2.25 greater than the actual elevation.

142 | Chapter 5 Survey Tutorials


Translate the survey database

1 In Toolspace, on the Survey tab, select the Survey 1 database. Right-click.


Click Translate Survey Database.

2 In the Translate Survey Database wizard, on the Base Point page, specify
the following parameters:
■ Easting: 5000

■ Northing: 5000

On this page, you specify the base point from which the survey network
will be moved.

3 Click Next.
On the Rotation Angle page, you specify the base point from which the
survey network will be moved. For this exercise, you will not change the
rotation of the survey network.

4 On the Rotation Angle page, for Rotation Angle, enter 0.

5 Click Next.
On the Destination Point page, you specify the point to which the survey
network will be moved. Notice that you can specify a new Easting,
Northing, or Elevation Change value. In this exercise, you will change
only the elevation.

6 On the Destination Point page, for Elevation Change, enter -2.25.

7 Click Next.
On the Summary page, you can examine the results of the translation
before it is applied to the survey network. If you want to modify the
translation, you can use the Back button to return to previous pages on
the wizard.

8 Click Finish.

9 In Toolspace, on the Survey tab, click the Setups collection.


In the list view, examine the elevation values of the setups that you
examined in Step 2. Notice that the values have been decreased by 2.25.
■ Station Point 1, Backsight Point 1000: Elevation = 261.400

■ Station Point 2, Backsight Point 1: Elevation = 257.710

■ Station Point 3, Backsight Point 2: Elevation = 255.188

Exercise 4: Translating a Survey Database | 143


To continue to the next tutorial, go to Manually Creating Survey Data (page
144).

Tutorial: Manually Creating Survey Data


This tutorial demonstrates how to manually create and add survey data.
In the following exercises, you will use three different methods to create survey
data:

■ The Toolspace Survey tab collections and commands

■ The Traverse Editor

■ The Survey Command Window commands

For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Adding and Editing
Survey Data.

Exercise 1: Creating Survey Data Using the Toolspace


Survey Tab
In this exercise, you will use the Toolspace Survey tab to create survey data.
The Survey tab provides centralized access to survey data, settings, and various
panorama vista editors, which can be used to create, edit, and manage survey
data.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic The Toolspace
Survey Tab.

Create a new survey database

1 Open Survey-4A.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759).

2 In Toolspace, on the Survey tab, right-click Survey Databases. Click New


Local Survey Database.

3 In the New Local Survey Database dialog box, for the name, enter Survey
2. Click OK.

4 In Toolspace, on the Survey tab, right-click the database Survey 2. Click


Edit Survey Database Settings.

144 | Chapter 5 Survey Tutorials


5 In the Survey Database Settings dialog box, under Measurement Type
Defaults, specify the following parameters:
■ Angle Type: Angle

■ Distance Type: Horizontal

■ Vertical Type: None

■ Target Type: None

6 Click OK.

Create a survey network

1 In Toolspace, on the Survey tab, expand the Survey 2 database. Right-click


the Networks collection. Click New.

2 In the Network dialog box, for Name, enter Survey Network 2.

3 Click OK.

Create a control point

1 On the Survey tab, expand Survey Network 2. Right-click the Control


Points collection. Click New.

2 In the New Control Point dialog box, specify the following parameters:
■ Number: 1

■ Easting: 1000.0000

■ Northing: 1000.0000

■ Description: STA 1

3 Click OK.

Create a direction

1 On the Survey tab, under Survey Network 2, right-click the Directions


collection. Click New.

2 In the New Direction dialog box, specify the following parameters:


■ From Point: 1

■ To Point: 4

Exercise 1: Creating Survey Data Using the Toolspace Survey Tab | 145
■ Direction: 45.0000

■ Direction Type: Azimuth

3 Click OK.

Create setups and observations

1 On the Survey tab, under Survey Network 2, right-click the Setups


collection. Click New.

2 In the New Setup dialog box, specify the following parameters:


■ Station Point: 1

■ Backsight Point: 4

3 Press Tab to move to the next field.


A dialog box is displayed indicating that point 4 is not defined.

4 Click No, and then click OK to create the setup.

5 On the Survey tab, under Survey Network 2, expand the Setups collection.
Right-click the setup Station: 1, Backsight: 4. Click Edit Observations.

6 In the Observations Editor, right-click in the grid. Click New.

7 For the new observation, specify the following parameters:


■ Point Number: 2

■ Angle: 90.0000

■ Distance: 100.00

NOTE After you enter the Distance value, you must click .

■ Description: STA 2

8 Click to save the new observation.

9 On the Survey tab, under Survey Network 2, right-click the Setups


collection. Click New.

10 In the New Setup dialog box, specify the following parameters:


■ Station Point: 2

146 | Chapter 5 Survey Tutorials


■ Backsight Point: 1

11 Click OK.

12 On the Survey tab, under Survey Network 2, expand the Setups collection.
Right-click the setup Station: 2, Backsight: 1. Click Edit Observations.

13 In the Observations Editor, right click in the grid. Click New.

14 For the new observation, specify the following parameters:


■ Point Number: 3

■ Angle: 90.0000

■ Distance: 100.00

NOTE After you enter the Distance value, you must click .

■ Description: STA 3

15 Click to save the new observation.

16 Follow steps 9 through 15 to create another setup with an observation.


Information for the new setup:
■ Station Point: 3

■ Backsight Point: 2

Information for the new observation:


■ Point Number: 4

■ Angle: 90.0000

■ Distance: 100.00

NOTE After you enter the Distance value, you must click .

■ Description: STA 4

17 Follow steps 9 through 15 to create another setup with an observation.


Information for the new setup:
■ Station Point: 4

Exercise 1: Creating Survey Data Using the Toolspace Survey Tab | 147
■ Backsight Point: 3

Information for the new observation:


■ Point Number: 1

■ Angle: 90.0000

■ Distance: 100.00

18 On the Survey tab, right-click Survey Network 2. Click Insert Into Drawing.
The new survey data is displayed in the drawing.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Creating Survey Data Using the


Traverse Editor (page 148).

Exercise 2: Creating Survey Data Using the Traverse


Editor
In this exercise, you will use the Traverse Editor to create survey data.
The Traverse Editor is used to edit the observations of an existing named
traverse or to enter traverse observations for a new traverse.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Traverses.

148 | Chapter 5 Survey Tutorials


This exercise continues from Exercise 1: Creating Survey Data Using the
Toolspace Survey Tab (page 144).

Create a new survey database

1 Open Survey-4B.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759).

2 In Toolspace, on the Survey tab, right-click Survey Databases. Click New


Local Survey Database.

3 In the New Local Survey Database dialog box, for the name, enter Survey
3. Click OK.

4 In Toolspace, on the Survey tab, right-click the database Survey 3. Click


Edit Survey Database Settings.

5 In the Survey Database Settings dialog box, under Measurement Type


Defaults, specify the following parameters:
■ Angle Type: Angle

■ Distance Type: Horizontal

■ Vertical Type: None

■ Target Type: None

6 Click OK.

Create a survey network

1 In Toolspace, on the Survey tab, expand the Survey 3 database. Right-click


the Networks collection. Click New.

2 In the Network dialog box, for Name, enter Survey Network 3.

3 Click OK.

Set up a traverse and define control points

1 In Toolspace, on the Survey tab, expand the Survey Databases ➤ Survey


3 ➤ Networks ➤ Survey Network 3. Right-click the Traverses collection.
Click New.

2 In the New Traverse dialog box, for Name, enter Traverse 3. Click OK.

3 On the Survey tab, expand the Traverses collection. Right-click Traverse


3. Click Edit.

Exercise 2: Creating Survey Data Using the Traverse Editor | 149


4 In the Specify Initial Setup dialog box, specify the following parameters:
■ Initial Station: 1

■ Initial Backsight: 4

5 Click OK.

6 A message is displayed indicating that initial station point 1 is not defined.


Click Yes to define it.

7 In the New Control Point dialog box, specify the following parameters:
■ Point Number: 1

■ Easting: 1000

■ Northing: 1000

■ Description: STA 1

8 Click OK.

9 A message is displayed indicating that backsight point 4 is not defined.


Click Yes to define it.

10 A message is displayed indicating that a backsight direction must be


created. Click Yes to create it.

11 In the New Direction dialog box, specify the following parameters:


■ Direction: 45

■ Direction Type: Azimuth

12 Click OK.
The Traverse Editor is displayed.

13 In the right side of the editor, for Station 1, Backsight 4, specify the
following parameters:

■ (point number): 2

■ Angle: 90

■ Distance: 100

NOTE After you enter the Distance value, you must click .

■ Description: STA 2

150 | Chapter 5 Survey Tutorials


14 For Station 2, Backsight 1, specify the following parameters:

■ (point number): 3

■ Angle: 90

■ Distance: 100

NOTE After you enter the Distance value, you must click .

■ Description: STA 3

15 For Station 3, Backsight 2, specify the following parameters:

■ (point number): 4

■ Angle: 90

■ Distance: 100

■ Description: STA 4

16 For Station 4, Backsight 3, specify the following parameters:

■ (point number): 1

■ Angle: 90

■ Distance: 100

17 Click to save the traverse information.

18 On the Survey tab, right-click Survey Network 3 and click Insert Into
Drawing.
The new survey data is displayed in the drawing.

Exercise 2: Creating Survey Data Using the Traverse Editor | 151


To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 3: Creating Survey Data Using the
Survey Command Window (page 152).

Exercise 3: Creating Survey Data Using the Survey


Command Window
In this exercise, you will create survey data using the Survey Command
Window.
The Survey Command Window is used to enter survey commands directly
using Command line input or interactively using the menus.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Survey Command
Window.
This exercise continues from Exercise 2: Creating Survey Data Using the
Traverse Editor (page 148).

Create a new survey database

1 Open Survey-4C.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759).

152 | Chapter 5 Survey Tutorials


2 In Toolspace, on the Survey tab, right-click Survey Databases. Click New
Local Survey Database.

3 In the New Local Survey Database dialog box, for the name, enter Survey
4. Click OK.

4 In Toolspace, on the Survey tab, right-click the database Survey 3. Click


Edit Survey Database Settings.

5 In the Survey Database Settings dialog box, under Survey Command


Window, specify the following parameters:
■ Ditto Feature: Yes

■ Auto Point Numbering: No

■ Start Point Numbering From: 1

■ Point Course Echo: Yes

■ Figure Course Echo: Yes

■ Point Coordinate Echo: Yes

■ Figure Coordinate Echo: Yes

■ Command Echo: Yes

■ Use Batch File: Yes

■ Use Output File: Yes

6 Click OK.

Create a survey network

1 In Toolspace, on the Survey tab, expand the Survey 4 database. Right-click


the Networks collection. Click New.

2 In the Network dialog box, for Name, enter Survey Network 4.

3 Click OK.

Enter survey data into the survey command window

1 In Toolspace, on the Survey tab, right-click Survey Network 4. Click Survey


Command Window.

2 In the Survey Command Window, enter the following commands into


the Command line.

Exercise 3: Creating Survey Data Using the Survey Command Window | 153
These are the survey language commands that will create four setups.
NE 1 1000.00 1000.00 “STA 1”
AZ 1 4 45.0000
STN 1
BS 4
AD 2 90.0000 100.00 “STA 2”
STN 2
BS 1
AD 3 90.0000 100.00 “STA 3”
STN 3
BS 2
AD 4 90.0000 100.00 “STA 4”
STN 4
BS 3
AD 1 90.0000 100.00
For more information about survey commands, see the AutoCAD Civil
3D Help topic Survey Command Language Commands.

3 As you enter the commands, the top section of the Survey Command
Window displays the resulting output and the bottom section echoes the
input.

4 Close the Survey Command Window.

5 On the Survey tab, right-click Survey Network 4 and click Insert Into
Drawing.
The new survey data is displayed in the drawing.

154 | Chapter 5 Survey Tutorials


To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 4: Calculating an Azimuth in The
Astronomic Direction Calculator (page 155).

Exercise 4: Calculating an Azimuth in The Astronomic


Direction Calculator
In this exercise, you will use the Astronomic Direction Calculator to calculate
an azimuth from solar observations by the hour angle method.
To calculate the azimuth, you can use either a single foresight or a multiple
foresight. For this exercise, you will use a multiple foresight because it is the
more commonly used solar observation method.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Astronomic
Direction Calculations.
This exercise continues from Exercise 3: Creating Survey Data Using the Survey
Command Window (page 152).

Exercise 4: Calculating an Azimuth in The Astronomic Direction Calculator | 155


Calculate an azimuth using the Astronomic Direction Calculator

NOTE This exercise uses Survey-4C.dwg with the modifications you made in the
previous exercise.

1 Click Analyze tab ➤ Ground Data panel ➤ Survey


drop-down ➤ Astronomic Direction .

2 In the Astronomic Direction Calculator dialog box, specify the following


parameters:

Calculation Type

■ Calculation Type: Sun Shot Calculation

Observation Station Data

■ Station Point: 2

■ Backsight Point: 1

■ Station Latitude: 36.04

■ Station Longitude: -94.1008

■ UT1 Time: 13.34024

Ephemeris Data

■ GHA 00 Hours: 180.13402

■ GHA 24 Hours: 180.10431

■ Declination 00 Hours: 22.54505

■ Declination 24 Hours: 22.59437

■ Sun Semi-diameter: 0.15468

3 Click .
A new observation set named Set:1 is displayed in the table.

4 Specify the following parameters for Set:1:

156 | Chapter 5 Survey Tutorials


Direct

■ Backsight Observation: 0.00

■ Sun Observation: 351.0835

■ Stop Time: 0.121590

Reverse

■ Backsight Observation: 180.0005

■ Sun Observation: 171.3520

■ Stop Time: 0.154210

NOTE The observations will determine the true astronomic direction from
the station point to the backsight point. Notice that after you enter the stop
time for an observation, the observed and average direction are calculated
automatically.

5 Click
A new observation set named Set:2 is displayed in the table.

6 Specify the following parameters for Set:2:

Direct

■ Backsight Observation: 0.00

■ Sun Observation: 351.1300

■ Stop Time: 0.12491

Reverse

■ Backsight Observation: 180.0005

■ Sun Observation: 171.3800

■ Stop Time: 0.16030

7 Click .
A new observation set named Set:3 is displayed in the table.

Exercise 4: Calculating an Azimuth in The Astronomic Direction Calculator | 157


8 Specify the following parameters for Set:3:

Direct

■ Backsight Observation: 0.00

■ Sun Observation: 351.1450

■ Stop Time: 0.13112

Reverse

■ Backsight Observation: 180.0005

■ Sun Observation: 171.4145

■ Stop Time: 0.16313

After you have entered the above data, notice that the Mean Direction
value calculated by the Astronomic Direction Calculator is
SOUTH87.967088EAST (if the drawing settings Direction Measurement
Type is set to Bearings).

9 Close the Astronomic Direction Calculator.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 5: Creating Figures from Parcels (page


158).

Exercise 5: Creating Figures from Parcels


In this exercise, you will use AutoCAD Civil 3D parcel objects to add figures
to a survey database.
In addition to parcel objects, you can also use feature lines, lot lines, and
AutoCAD lines and polylines as a source to create figures.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Creating Figures.
This exercise continues from Exercise 4: Calculating an Azimuth in The
Astronomic Direction Calculator (page 155).

Create a new survey database

1 Open Survey-4D.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759).

158 | Chapter 5 Survey Tutorials


2 In Toolspace, on the Survey tab, right-click Survey Databases. Click New
Local Survey Database.

3 In the New Local Survey Database dialog box, for the name, enter Survey
5. Click OK.

Create survey figures from existing parcels

1 In Toolspace, on the Survey tab, expand the database Survey 5. Right-click


the Figures collection. Click Create Figure From Object.

2 In the drawing, click the label for the parcel SINGLE-FAMILY: 101.

3 In the Create Figure From Objects dialog box, specify the following
parameters:
■ Name: LOT CORNER

■ Current Figure Prefix Database: Sample

■ Associate Survey Points To Vertices: Yes

4 Click OK.

5 Press Esc to end the command.


The figure is created and added to the Figures collection under the Survey
5 database.

To continue to the next tutorial, go to Outputting Survey Information (page


159).

Tutorial: Outputting Survey Information


This tutorial demonstrates how to view information reports for figures and
how to use the figures as a source for surface data.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topics Figure Inquiry
Commands and Creating Breaklines from Figures.

Exercise 1: Viewing Inverse and Mapcheck Information


on a Survey Figure
In this exercise, you will display the figure mapcheck and inverse information.

Tutorial: Outputting Survey Information | 159


The Mapcheck command checks the figure for length, course, perimeter, area,
error of closure, and precision. It starts at the beginning of the figure and
computes the figure vertex XY coordinates for each segment. These
computations are based on the inverse direction and distance/curve data and
the Linear and Angle precision (set in the Survey Database Settings).
For closed figures, error is introduced into the sequential computation of
vertices of the mapcheck report, so a closure error, closure direction, and
precision can be calculated. The area is also based on the computed vertex XY
coordinates.
The Inverse command starts at the beginning of the figure and lists the
direction and distance, or curve data computed from the XY coordinates of
the endpoints of the figure segments. The area is calculated from the XY
coordinates of each segment.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Figure Inquiry
Commands.
This exercise continues from the Manually Creating Survey Data (page 144)
tutorial.

View inverse information for a figure

1 Open Survey-5A.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759).
This drawing contains the survey network that was created in the
Importing Field-Coded Survey Data (page 124) exercise.

2 In Toolspace, on the Survey tab, right-click the database Survey 1. Click


Open Survey Database.

3 Under Survey 1, expand the Figures collections.

NOTE If a is displayed beside the Figures collection, click the collection


to refresh it and then click to view all the figures.

4 Right-click the figure BLDG2. Click Display Inverse.


The figure inverse information is displayed in the Figure Display vista.
The icon indicates that a vertex is associated with a survey point.

5 When you have finished reviewing the inverse data, click to close the
vista.

160 | Chapter 5 Survey Tutorials


View mapcheck information for a figure

1 Right-click the figure LOT1. Click Display Mapcheck.


The figure mapcheck information is displayed in the Figure Display vista.

2 When you have finished reviewing the mapcheck data, click to close
the vista.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Performing a Mapcheck Analysis


with Parcel Labels (page 161).

Exercise 2: Performing a Mapcheck Analysis with Parcel


Labels
In this exercise, you will use the data in parcel segment labels to perform a
mapcheck analysis.
The Mapcheck command checks the figure for length, course, perimeter, area,
error of closure, and precision. It starts at the beginning of the figure and
computes the figure vertex XY coordinates for each segment. These
computations are based on the actual labeled values, and not the inverse
direction and distance/curve data and the Linear and Angle precision (set in
the Survey Database Settings).
This method of performing a mapcheck analysis is useful as a final check of
closure. The data for the mapcheck analysis is taken from parcel segment
labels. The precision of the mapcheck analysis is based on the precision of the
labels.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Performing a
Mapcheck Analysis.
This exercise continues from Exercise 1: Viewing Inverse and Mapcheck
Information on a Survey Figure (page 159).

Set up the mapcheck analysis dialog box

1 Open Survey-5B.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759).
This drawing contains a small subdivision with several parcels. All the
parcel segments on the left side of the site are labeled. Notice that along
the cul-de-sac, the line and curve labels have been converted to tags, and
their data is displayed in a table on the left side of the site. You will
perform a mapcheck analysis on parcel LOT 5.

Exercise 2: Performing a Mapcheck Analysis with Parcel Labels | 161


2 Click Analyze tab ➤ Ground Data panel ➤ Survey drop-down ➤ Mapcheck
.

3 If a message that states that the command line mode cannot be used
while a command is active is displayed, click OK.

4 In the Mapcheck Analysis dialog box, make sure that the Use
Command Line Interface option is toggled on.

5 Click Input View.


The input view provides an interface in which you can add data to the
mapcheck analysis.

Perform a mapcheck on parcel labels

1 Click New Mapcheck.

2 On the command line, for the name of the mapcheck, enter Parcel Labels.

3 When prompted to specify a point of beginning, click the intersection


of the lot lines under label tag L1.

The icon indicates the point of beginning.

4 Select the L1 label tag above the point of beginning.


A temporary arrow graphic is displayed at the point of beginning. Notice
that the arrow is pointing away from LOT 5.

5 On the command line, enter R to reverse the direction of the arrow.

6 Select the C1 label tag.


Notice that the temporary line and arrow are pointing in the wrong
direction.

7 Enter F to flip the arrow.

8 Select the C2 label tag.

9 Select the bearing over distance label to the left of the arrow. Enter R to
reverse the direction.

10 Select the 100.00’ portion of the bearing over distance label below the
arrow.

162 | Chapter 5 Survey Tutorials


A icon appears at the end of the current line, and the command
line states that there is not enough data to define the segment. This
happened because the current segment is a lot line that is shared by all
the parcels on the left side of the site.

11 Select the bearing portion of the label. Enter R to reverse the direction.

12 Select the bearing over distance label to the right of the arrow.
The arrow returns to the point of beginning.

13 Press Enter to end the command.


In the Mapcheck Analysis dialog box, notice that you can edit any of the
sides you created during the mapcheck analysis.

14 Click Output View.


The Output View displays the results of the mapcheck analysis. You will
learn how to work with the output data in Exercise 4: Working with
Mapcheck Data (page 167).

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 3: Performing a Mapcheck Analysis


by Manually Entering Data (page 164).

Exercise 2: Performing a Mapcheck Analysis with Parcel Labels | 163


Exercise 3: Performing a Mapcheck Analysis by Manually
Entering Data
In this exercise, you will manually enter survey data to perform a mapcheck
analysis.
This method of performing a mapcheck analysis is useful when you must
check survey data that does not exist as labels in the drawing. For example,
you can use this method to enter survey data from a paper drawing.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Manually Entering
Mapcheck Data.
This exercise continues from Exercise 2: Performing a Mapcheck Analysis with
Parcel Labels (page 161).

Set up the mapcheck analysis dialog box

NOTE This exercise uses Survey-5B.dwg with the modifications you made in the
previous exercise.

The parcel segments on the right side of the site are not labeled. Because the
data is not available in parcel labels, you must enter the mapcheck information
manually.

1 Click Analyze tab ➤ Ground Data panel ➤ Survey drop-down ➤ Mapcheck


.

2 If a message that states the command line mode cannot be used while a
command is active is displayed, click OK.

3 In the Mapcheck Analysis dialog box, make sure that the Use
Command Line Interface option is toggled off.

4 Click Input View.


The input view provides an interface in which you can add data to the
mapcheck analysis.

Enter parcel data

1 Click New Mapcheck.

164 | Chapter 5 Survey Tutorials


2 In the Mapcheck Analysis dialog box, for the name of the mapcheck,
enter Parcel Manual Input.

3 To specify the point of beginning, enter the following values:


■ Easting: 5576.199

■ Northing: 5291.0640

The icon indicates the point of beginning.

4 Click New Side.

5 Expand the Side 1 collection. Specify the following parameters:

NOTE Notice that the icon is displayed next to the side collection, and
also next to the top-level mapcheck collection. This indicates that the
mapcheck is incomplete, because it requires more data about the side.

■ Side Type: Line

■ Angle Type: Direction

■ Angle: N00 00 10E

■ Distance: 16.330

6 Click New Side.

7 Expand the Side 2 collection. Specify the following parameters:


■ Side Type: Curve

■ Curve Direction: Clockwise

■ Radius: 20.00

■ Arc Length: 21.550

8 Click New Side.

9 Expand the Side 3 collection. Specify the following parameters:


■ Side Type: Curve

■ Curve Direction: Counter-clockwise

Exercise 3: Performing a Mapcheck Analysis by Manually Entering Data | 165


■ Radius: 75.00

■ Arc Length: 80.800

10 Click New Side.

11 Expand the Side 4 collection. Specify the following parameters:


■ Side Type: Line

■ Angle: N90 00 00E

■ Distance: 99.990

12 Click New Side.

13 Expand the Side 5 collection. Specify the following parameters:


■ Side Type: Line

■ Angle: S0 00 00E

■ Distance: 100

14 Click New Side.

15 Expand the Side 6 collection. Specify the following parameters:


■ Side Type: Line

■ Angle: N89 59 54W

■ Distance: 149.990

The direction arrow meets the point of beginning.

166 | Chapter 5 Survey Tutorials


16 Click Output View.
The Output View displays the results of the mapcheck analysis. You will
learn how to work with the output data in Exercise 4: Working with
Mapcheck Data (page 167).

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 4: Working with Mapcheck Data (page


167).

Exercise 4: Working with Mapcheck Data


In this exercise, you will learn about the tools that can leverage the data
obtained from a mapcheck analysis.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Mapcheck Analysis.
This tutorial continues from Exercise 3: Performing a Mapcheck Analysis by
Manually Entering Data (page 164).

Change the default appearance of the mapcheck objects

NOTE This exercise uses Survey-5B.dwg with the modifications you made in the
previous exercise.

1 In Toolspace, on the Settings tab, expand the General ➤ Commands


collection. Right-click MapCheck. Click Edit Command Settings.

Exercise 4: Working with Mapcheck Data | 167


2 On the Edit Command Settings dialog box, expand the Mapcheck
collection. Examine the default settings that are available.
The colors in this collection specify the appearance of the mapcheck
objects. Notice that Mapcheck Color currently is set to green.

3 Click in the Mapcheck Color Value cell. Click .

4 In the Select Color dialog box, in the Color field, enter 10. Click OK.

5 In the Edit Command Settings dialog box, click OK.


In the drawing window, notice that the mapcheck object around LOT 5
is red.

Move mapcheck data into the drawing

1 In the Mapcheck Analysis dialog box, click Output View.

2 Select the Parcel Labels mapcheck.

3 Click Insert Mtext.

4 Pan to a clear area of the drawing. Click to place the Mtext.

Save mapcheck data to a text file

1 Click Copy To Clipboard.

2 On the command line, enter NOTEPAD. When you are prompted for a
file to edit, press Enter.

3 In the Microsoft Notepad window, press Ctrl+V.


The mapcheck data is displayed in Microsoft Notepad. You can save this
file for later analysis in another application.

Create a polyline from the mapcheck data

1 Select the Parcel Manual Input mapcheck.

2 Click Create Polyline.


A polyline is created on the perimeter of LOT 5. You can perform any
standard AutoCAD functions on the polyline.

168 | Chapter 5 Survey Tutorials


To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 5: Creating Surface Breaklines from
Figures (page 169).

Exercise 5: Creating Surface Breaklines from Figures


In this exercise, you will use figures to add breaklines to a surface.
The breaklines will define the edge of pavement (EP) features, such as retaining
walls, curbs, tops of ridges, and streams. Breaklines force surface triangulation
along the breakline and prevent triangulation across the breakline.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Creating Breaklines
from Figures.
This exercise continues from Exercise 4: Working with Mapcheck Data (page
167).

To create surface breaklines from figures

1 Open Survey-5C.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759).
This drawing contains the empty surface Figure Surface 1, to which you
will add the figure data.

NOTE For more information about creating surfaces, see the Creating and
Adding Data to a Surface (page 47) tutorial.

2 In Toolspace, on the Survey tab, open the survey database Survey 1 and
expand the Figures collection.

3 Click figure EP1.

4 Press the Shift key, click figure EP7.

5 Keeping the Shift key pressed, right-click figure EP7 and click Edit.
The Figures Editor is displayed with only the EP figures that you selected.

6 To change the Breakline property to Yes for all EP figures, right-click the
column heading Breakline and click Edit.

7 Enter Y and press Enter.


The Breakline property for all figures is changed to Yes.

NOTE The figures are displayed with bold text indicating there are unsaved
changes.

Exercise 5: Creating Surface Breaklines from Figures | 169


8 Click to save the changes to the survey database.

9 Click to close the Figures Editor vista.

10 In Toolspace, on the Survey tab, right-click the Figures collection and


click Create Breaklines.

11 In the Create Breaklines dialog box, click the Select Surface drop-down
list and click Figure Surface 1. The EP figures are displayed in the list view
part of the dialog box.

12 Click OK.

13 In the Add Breaklines dialog box, enter the following:


■ Description: EP

■ Type: Standard

■ Mid-ordinate Distance: 0.1

NOTE For more information about breaklines, see Exercise 3: Adding


Breaklines to a Surface (page 55)

14 Click OK.

The surface border and contours are displayed in the drawing.

170 | Chapter 5 Survey Tutorials


Project Management
Tutorials 6
These tutorials will get you started working with the AutoCAD Civil 3D project management
tools. You can use the project management functionality to provide shared access to
engineering data while preserving data integrity.
Two methods of project management are explained in these tutorials: data shortcuts and
Vault.

NOTE All drawings used in these tutorials are available in the tutorial drawings folder (page
759). If you want to save your work from these tutorials, save the drawings to the My Civil
Tutorial Data folder (page 759) so that you do not overwrite the original drawings.

For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Understanding Project Management.

Tutorial: Using Data Shortcuts


This tutorial demonstrates how to create a data shortcuts project, create data
shortcuts from objects in one drawing, and then import the data shortcuts into
another drawing.
A data shortcut provides a complete reference copy of an object that you can
import from one drawing into one or more other drawings. Data shortcuts
provide a flexible, object-level project management tool without the
administrative overhead that is associated with Autodesk Vault. Data shortcuts
are managed in Toolspace on the Prospector tab, in a structure that is similar
to Autodesk Vault. However, data shortcuts do not provide the editing controls,
protection, and data security that Autodesk Vault does.
In order for multiple users to use a data shortcut, it must be stored in a network
location that is accessible to all users. You can use data shortcuts to reference
surface, alignment, profile, pipe network, and view frame group objects. If a

171
referenced object is changed in the source drawing, changes are updated in
any drawings that reference the object.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Using Data
Shortcuts.

Exercise 1: Setting Up a Data Shortcut Folder


In this exercise, you will set up a folder in which to store objects that are
referenced through data shortcuts.
The data shortcut folder contains all the source drawings and data shortcut
objects in a project.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Using Data
Shortcuts.

Access the project management tools in Prospector

1 Open drawing Project Management-1.dwg, which is available in the tutorial


drawings folder (page 759).
This drawing contains an existing ground surface, alignments that
represent intersecting road centerlines, and parcel objects that represent
property boundaries. In the following exercises, you will create data
shortcuts to the surface and alignments in this drawing, and then
reference them in a new drawing.

172 | Chapter 6 Project Management Tutorials


2 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, select the Master View.

Set the working folder

1 Right-click the Data Shortcuts collection. Click Set Working Folder.


The working folder is the parent folder where you save project folders.
For this exercise, you will specify a folder on your hard drive as your
working folder.

2 In the Browse For Folder dialog box, navigate to the Civil 3D Projects folder
(page 759). Click OK.

Exercise 1: Setting Up a Data Shortcut Folder | 173


Create a data shortcuts project

1 Right-click the Data Shortcuts collection. Click New Data Shortcuts


Folder.

2 In the New Data Shortcuts Folder dialog box, select the Use Project
Template check box.

3 Under Project Templates Folder, click .

4 In the Browse For Folder dialog box, navigate to the Civil 3D Projects folder
(page 759).

5 In the Browse For Folder dialog box, select the Civil 3D Project Templates
folder (page 759). Click OK.

6 In the New Data Shortcuts Folder dialog box, specify the following
parameters:
■ Name: Tutorial Data Shortcuts Project

■ Use Project Template; Selected

■ Project Template: select _Sample Project

Notice that the folder you specified in Step 5 is displayed in the Working
Folder field.

7 Click OK.

8 Using Windows Explorer, navigate to the Civil 3D Projects folder (page


759). Examine the folder structure in the Tutorial Data Shortcuts Project
folder.
The folder structure provides separate locations for data shortcuts, source
drawings, and other data. You will save project objects in these folders
in the next exercise.
This is a typical structure for an AutoCAD Civil 3D project. Folders are
provided for many of the document types that are typical of a civil
engineering project.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Creating Data Shortcuts (page 174).

Exercise 2: Creating Data Shortcuts


In this exercise, you will create data shortcuts from the objects in a drawing.
The data shortcuts will be available to reference into other drawings.

174 | Chapter 6 Project Management Tutorials


For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Creating Data
Shortcuts.
This exercise continues from Exercise 1: Setting Up a Data Shortcut Folder
(page 172).

Save the source drawing with the project

NOTE This exercise uses Project Management-1.dwg with the modifications you
made in the previous exercise.

1 Click ➤ Save As.

2 In the Save Drawing As dialog box, navigate to the Civil 3D Projects folder
(page 759) \Tutorial Data Shortcuts Project\Source Drawings folder. Click
Save.
Source drawings that contain objects that are referenced in other drawings
should be saved with the data shortcuts project.

Create data shortcuts

1 Click Manage tab ➤ Data Shortcuts panel ➤ Create Data Shortcuts .

NOTE As a best practice, each object should reside in a separate drawing.


To save time in this exercise, all the reference objects are in the current
drawing.

2 In the Create Data Shortcuts dialog box, select the following check boxes:
■ Surfaces

■ Alignments

This action selects the EG surface and both alignments in the drawing.

3 Click OK.

Examine the data shortcuts in the project

1 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, expand the Data Shortcuts

collection. Expand the Surfaces and Alignments collections.

Exercise 2: Creating Data Shortcuts | 175


Notice that data shortcuts have been created for the objects you selected
in Step 4. In the next exercise, you will reference these objects in another
drawing.

2 Using Windows Explorer, navigate to theCivil 3D Projects folder (page


759)\Tutorial Data Shortcuts Project. Examine the contents of the
subfolders:
■ _Shortcuts\Alignments: This folder contains an XML file for each
alignment in the source drawing. The XML files identify the path to
the drawing that contains the alignment, the name of the source
drawing, and the name of the alignment.

■ _Shortcuts\Profiles: This folder contains an XML file for each profile


in the source drawing. The XML files identify the path to the drawing
that contains the profile, the name of the source drawing, and the
name of the profile.

■ _Shortcuts\Surfaces: This folder contains an XML file for the EG surface.

■ Source Drawings: This folder contains the source drawing, which you
saved in Step 6. The source drawings should always be saved with the
data shortcut project. In a real project, you would save the drawings
that contain each object in the subfolders.

While it is useful to know that the data shortcut XML files exist, you do
not work directly with them in normal data referencing operations.
Management of data references is done in Toolspace on the Prospector
tab.

NOTE Leave Project Management-1.dwg open for the next exercise.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 3: Referencing Data Shortcuts (page


176).

Exercise 3: Referencing Data Shortcuts


In this exercise, you will reference several shortcuts in a new drawing.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Referencing a
Project Object.
This exercise continues from Exercise 2: Creating Data Shortcuts (page 174).

176 | Chapter 6 Project Management Tutorials


Reference data shortcuts in a new drawing

NOTE Before you perform this exercise, you must have created data shortcuts as
described in the previous exercise.

1 Open drawing Project Management-2.dwg, which is available in the tutorial


drawings folder (page 759).
This drawing is empty. In the following steps, you will reference the
objects for which you created data shortcuts in the previous exercise.

2 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, in the Data Shortcuts ➤


Surfaces collection, right-click EG. Click Create Reference.
In the Create Surface Reference dialog box, notice that you can specify
a Name, Description, Style, and Render Material for the surface. The
parameters that define the object cannot be modified in the current
drawing, but you can adjust the object properties. For this exercise, you
will accept the existing property settings, except for the surface style.

3 In the Create Surface Reference dialog box, in the Style row, click the

Value column. Click .

4 In the Select Surface Style dialog box, select Contours 5m and 25m
(Background). Click OK.

5 In the Create Surface Reference dialog box, click OK.


The EG surface is displayed in the drawing using the style that you
specified.

Exercise 3: Referencing Data Shortcuts | 177


6 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, expand the Project Management-2

➤ Surfaces collection.

Notice that the EG surface is displayed in the Surfaces collection. The


icon indicates that the surface was created from a data shortcut.

7 In the Data Shortcuts ➤ Alignments collection, right-click First


Street. Click Create Reference.

8 In the Create Alignment Reference dialog box, click OK.


The alignment is displayed in the drawing.

178 | Chapter 6 Project Management Tutorials


Create an object from the referenced objects

1 Click Home tab ➤ Create Design panel ➤ Profile drop-down ➤ Create

Surface Profile .

2 In the Create Profile From Surface dialog box, specify the following
parameters:
■ Alignment: First Street

■ Select Surfaces: EG

3 Click Add.

4 Click Draw In Profile View.

5 In the Create Profile View wizard, on the General page, for Profile View
Style, select Major Grids.

6 Click Create Profile View.

7 In the drawing, click to place the profile view grid.


The referenced surface and alignment are read-only objects in the drawing
and require little storage space. You can use the referenced object data

Exercise 3: Referencing Data Shortcuts | 179


to create other objects in the current drawing, but you cannot change
the source objects.

Save the current drawing

1 Click ➤ Save As.

2 In the Save Drawing As dialog box, navigate to the Civil 3D Projects folder
(page 759)\Tutorial Data Shortcuts Project\Production Drawings. Click
Save.
Like source drawings, the final production drawings that contain
references to other objects should be saved with the data shortcuts project.

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Next, you will modify the alignment in the source drawing, and then
update the current drawing to reflect the changes.

Change a referenced object in the source drawing

1 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, click Project Management-1.dwg.


Right-click. Click Switch To.

2 Select the alignment.

3 Move the grips to change the alignment layout.

4 Click ➤ Save.

Exercise 3: Referencing Data Shortcuts | 181


Synchronize the current drawing to the source drawing

1 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, click Project Management-2.dwg.


Right-click. Click Switch To.

2 Expand the Project Management-2 ➤ Alignments collection.

The icon indicates that the reference to the source drawing is out
of date.

3 Right-click the First Street alignment. Click Synchronize.


Notice that the alignment is updated to reflect the changes you made in
the source drawing. Also notice that the surface profile that you created
from the alignment has been updated.

NOTE This is the end of the data shortcuts tutorial. The next tutorials in this section
demonstrate how to structure a project using Autodesk Vault.

182 | Chapter 6 Project Management Tutorials


To continue to the next tutorial, go to Database Setup (page 183).

Tutorial: Vault Setup


In this tutorial, you will act as a project administrator, creating a project in
Autodesk Vault and some sample users.
You will log in as various users to see how the work of one user affects the
work of another user. You will add files to the project, practice checking files
in and out, and create object references.
The design of this tutorial assumes that you have installed the stand-alone
version of Autodesk Data Management Server on your computer. This enables
you to log in to the Vault database as the Administrator and create some
sample users. However, if you are working with an Autodesk Vault database
that is shared on a network and you are not permitted to log in as the
Administrator, skip Exercise 2: Creating User Accounts and Groups (page 185)
and do the remaining exercises in this tutorial. You may need to modify some
steps to suit your database setup.
If you are the Administrator of a shared database, you can use this tutorial as
a basis for training users on correct procedures. To protect your existing data,
and prepare a safe learning environment, the following steps are recommended:

1 Create a separate Tutorial database (vault).

2 Create a few user accounts and groups that can access only the Tutorial
database. The steps in Exercise 2: Creating User Accounts and Groups
(page 185) provide some useful guidelines.

3 Review the tasks in this tutorial to verify that users can do all the steps
as written. If necessary, prepare additional instructions for your users, or
prepare a revised version of the tutorial.

For best results, do the exercises in this tutorial in the order they are presented.
Many of the exercises depend on having the database in a particular state
created by completing the preceding exercise.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Using Vault.

Exercise 1: Logging In to Autodesk Vault


In this exercise, you will log in to Autodesk Vault to prepare for other project
tasks.

Tutorial: Vault Setup | 183


For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Logging In to a
Vault Server.

NOTE If projects are not displayed in the Master View of the Prospector tab, as
indicated in step 1 below, you may need to do the following: If you are running
Windows 2000, ensure that you have installed the Microsoft Windows 2000
Updates (including MDAC 2.7 SP1) as well as Service Pack 4. If you are running
Windows XP, ensure that you have installed Service Pack 2.

Log in to the database

1 In Toolspace, click the Prospector tab.

NOTE Ensure that you have a drawing open and that you select the Master
View from the list at the top of the Prospector tab.

In the Prospector tree, you should see the Projects collection.

2 Right-click the Projects collection and click Log In To Vault.

3 If the Welcome dialog box appears, click Log In.

4 In the Log In dialog box, review the four data fields:


■ User Name: Administrator. Leave this entry as is.

■ Password: blank. Leave this field blank for this exercise.

■ Server: localhost (for stand-alone local database), or if you have a


central Data Management Server on your network, use its name.

■ Database: Vault. Leave this entry as is, unless your system


administrator advises you to use a different database.

5 Click OK.
The system logs you in to Autodesk Vault.

6 Right-click the Projects collection and click Properties.

7 In the Properties – Civil 3D Projects dialog box, note that the default
location for the Working Folder.

184 | Chapter 6 Project Management Tutorials


8 Click OK to close the Properties - Civil 3D Projects dialog box.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Creating User Accounts and Groups


(page 185).

Exercise 2: Creating User Accounts and Groups


In this exercise, you will create two user accounts and two user groups that
can access files in the database.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topics Creating Vault
User Accounts and Creating Vault Groups.
This procedure assumes that you are already logged in to the database as
described in Exercise 1: Logging In to Autodesk Vault (page 183).

NOTE You cannot create a user group without assigning at least one user to the
group. Therefore, you should create some user accounts before creating groups.

Create user accounts

1 To open Autodesk Vault Explorer, in Toolspace, on the Prospector tab,


right-click the Projects collection, and click Autodesk Vault.

NOTE You can also open Autodesk Vault Explorer from the Start menu ➤
Programs ➤ Autodesk ➤ Autodesk Data Management ➤ Autodesk Vault
2010.

2 In the Welcome dialog box, click Log In.

3 In the Log In dialog box, verify the Administrator’s login data, then click
OK.

4 In Autodesk Vault, ensure that the correct database (vault) is selected.


If you are using the default stand-alone server, there is only one database,
and it is Vault. The current server, database (Vault), and user are displayed
in the lower right corner of Autodesk Vault

5 In Autodesk Vault, click Tools menu ➤ Administration.

6 In the Administration dialog box, on the Security tab, click Users.

7 In the User Management dialog box, click New User.

Exercise 2: Creating User Accounts and Groups | 185


8 In the New User dialog box, enter the following information:
■ First Name: Pat

■ Last Name: Red

■ User Name: pred

■ Password: red123

■ Confirm Password: red123

9 Select Enable User. Click OK.

10 Repeat steps 7 through 9 to create another user profile as follows:


■ First Name: Kim

■ Last Name: Green

■ User Name: kgreen

■ Password: green123

■ Confirm Password: green123

11 Close the User Management dialog box.

Create user groups

1 In the Administration dialog box, on the Security tab, click Groups.

2 In the Groups dialog box, click New Group.

3 In the Group dialog box, in the Group Name field, enter Engineers.

4 Click the Roles button, then select Vault Editor. Click OK.

5 Click the Vaults button, then select the database that your test users will
work in. Select the default value, which is Vault. Click OK.

6 Select Enable Group.

7 Click the Add button.

8 To add the member pred to the group, in the Add Members dialog box,
in the Available Members table, click the row for pred. Click Add.

9 Click OK to close the Add Members dialog box.

10 Click OK to close the Group dialog box.

186 | Chapter 6 Project Management Tutorials


11 In the Group Management dialog box, click New Group again, and repeat
Steps 3 through 10 to create a group named Technicians. This group has
the role of Vault Consumer and access to the same Vault database. Add
user kgreen to the Technicians group.
You will not see the advantages of creating user groups in this tutorial,
but the structure you have just created is recommended for project teams.
Groups can have different roles in relation to a particular database, and
you can change the roles of users by moving them into the appropriate
group.

12 Click Close to close the Administration dialog box and then close
Autodesk Vault.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 3: Creating a Project (page 187).

Exercise 3: Creating a Project


This exercise demonstrates how to log in to the project management system
and create a project.
A project is a collection in the Prospector tree that represents objects in a
database (vault). Each project is essentially a folder that contains drawings,
databases of points, and reference objects, such as surfaces, alignments, and
pipe networks. A project folder can also contain other documents relevant to
an engineering project.
A database user with the Vault Editor role can create projects.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Working with
Vault Projects.
The following procedure assumes that you are already logged in to the database
as described in Exercise 1: Logging In to Autodesk Vault (page 183).

Create a project

1 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, right-click the Projects collection,


then click New.

2 In the New Project dialog box, for Name, enter Tutorial Vault Project.
Optionally, add a short Description.

3 Select the Use Project Template check box.

Exercise 3: Creating a Project | 187


When you select this option, you can specify a template to use in
structuring your project. This option enables you to structure similar
projects in the same way.

4 In the Project Templates Folder area, click .

5 In the Browse For Folder dialog box, navigate to the Civil 3D Project
Templates folder (page 759)\_Sample Project folder.
This is a typical structure for an AutoCAD Civil 3D project. Folders are
provided for many of the document types that are typical of a civil
engineering project.

6 In the Browse For Folder dialog box, select the Civil 3D Project Templates
folder (page 759). Click OK.

7 In the New Project dialog box, in the Project Template field, select _Sample
Project.

8 Click OK.

9 Under the Projects collection, expand the Tutorial Vault Project collection.
Examine the folders and nodes that were created from the template you
specified in Step 7. For example, the Drawings collection contains folders
in which you can save different types of project drawings. The object
collections will contain data references to AutoCAD Civil 3D objects that
reside in the project drawings.

To continue to the next tutorial, go to Creating, Referencing, and Modifying


Project Object Data (page 188).

Tutorial: Creating, Referencing, and Modifying


Project Object Data
In this tutorial, you will add a drawing to the project, create a project surface
and then access the surface from another drawing. You will use the
Surface-3.dwg tutorial drawing as the starting point.
This tutorial continues from the Database Setup (page 183) tutorial.
If you are logged in as Administrator, log out and log in as the first test user,
pred (password: red123). To log out, right-click the Projects collection in
Prospector, Master View, and click Log Out. Then right-click Projects and click
Log In To Vault.

188 | Chapter 6 Project Management Tutorials


Each project object begins as an object within a drawing. When you add the
drawing to the project, you specify which objects in the drawing you want to
share with other members of the project team.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Working with
Vault Project Objects.

Exercise 1: Adding a Drawing to the Project


In this exercise, you will add a drawing to a project. In the process, you will
create a shared project surface.
You will create a drawing named Project-XGND.dwg that contains the surface
to be shared.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Adding a Drawing
to a Project.

Save the drawing with the project

1 Open drawing Surface-3.dwg, which is available in the tutorial drawings


folder (page 759).
This drawing contains COGO points and an existing ground surface.
Because you will share this data with other users, you must save the
drawing with the project.

2 Click ➤ Save As.

3 In the Save Drawing As dialog box, browse to the following location:


Civil 3D Projects folder (page 759)\Tutorial Vault Project\Source
Drawings\Surfaces

4 For File Name, enter Project-XGND.dwg.

5 Click Save.

NOTE You must be logged in to Autodesk Vault to perform the following


steps. see Exercise 1: Logging In to Autodesk Vault (page 183) for instructions.

Exercise 1: Adding a Drawing to the Project | 189


Create a reference object

1 On the Prospector tab, ensure that Master View is selected, and expand
the Open Drawings collection. Right-click Project-XGND.dwg and click
Add To Project.
The following warning message is displayed: “<file name and path> will
be automatically saved if you add to a project. Do you want to continue?”

2 Click Yes in the warning dialog box.

3 In the first Add To Project dialog box, select Tutorial Vault Project.

4 Click Next.

5 On the Select A Drawing Location page, select the Source Drawings ➤


Surfaces folder.

6 Click Next.

7 On the Drawing File Dependencies page, select Project-XGND.dwg.

8 Click Next.

9 On the Share Data page, select XGND.

10 Click Finish.

11 On the Prospector tab, under the Projects collection, expand the Tutorial
Vault Project collection. Expand the Drawings collection, and the Source
Drawings ➤ Surfaces folder.

The icon displayed next to Project-XGND.dwg indicates that the


drawing is available to be checked out.

12 Under the Tutorial Vault Project collection, expand the Surfaces object
collection.

The icon next to XGND indicates that the project drawing that
contains the surface is available to be checked out.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Creating a Reference to a Project


Object (page 190).

Exercise 2: Creating a Reference to a Project Object


In this exercise, you will create a drawing and create a read-only copy of a
project surface in the drawing.

190 | Chapter 6 Project Management Tutorials


For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Creating References
to Project Objects.
This exercise continues from Exercise 1: Adding a Drawing to the Project (page
189).

Create a reference to a project object

1 Click ➤ New.

2 In the Select Template dialog box, click _AutoCAD Civil 3D (Imperial)


NCS.dwt. Click Open.

3 Click ➤ Save As.

4 In the Save Drawing As dialog box, browse to the following location:


Civil 3D Projects folder (page 759)\Tutorial Vault Project\Production
Drawings

5 Save the file as Project-1.dwg.

6 On the Prospector tab, expand the Projects collection ➤ Tutorial Vault


Project ➤ Surfaces. Right-click XGND. Click Create Reference.

7 In the Create Surface Reference dialog box, change the surface style from
Contours 2’ And 10’ (Background) to Contours And Triangles.
This style specifies how the surface XGND will be displayed in the drawing
Project-1. This style setting is independent of the surface style used for
the master copy of the surface in Project-XGND.dwg.

8 Click OK.

NOTE If the Event Viewer is displayed, indicating that the surface is created,
close it.

The drawing Project-1 now contains a read-only copy of the project


surface XGND. The master copy of the object remains untouched in the
project database. The drawing Project-1 is not in the project database,
but it is considered to be attached to the Tutorial Vault Project because
it contains a reference to an object in that project. While this link remains,
the drawing Project-1 can include references to other objects in the
Tutorial project, but cannot contain references to objects in other projects.

Exercise 2: Creating a Reference to a Project Object | 191


9 Save and close the drawing.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 3: Checking Out and Modifying a


Project Object (page 192).

Exercise 3: Checking Out and Modifying a Project Object


You check out a project object by checking out the drawing that contains the
object.
In this exercise, you will check out and modify the drawing that contains the
surface object XGND.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Checking Out
Project Object Source Drawings.
This exercise continues from Exercise 2: Creating a Reference to a Project
Object (page 190).

Check out a reference object

1 On the Prospector tab, expand the Projects ➤ Tutorial Vault Project ➤


Drawings collection.

2 Select the Source Drawings ➤ Surfaces folder to display the list view for
the collection.
In the list view, note that the Version for Project-XGND.dwg is 1.

The icon next to Project-XGND.dwg indicates that the drawing is


checked in.

3 Right-click Project-XGND.dwg and click Check Out.

4 In the Check Out Drawing dialog box, verify that Project-XGND.dwg is


selected.

5 Click OK.

The drawing is checked out and opened. The icon next to


Project-XGND.dwg in the Open Drawings collection indicates that the
drawing is checked out to you. In the next few steps, you will modify the
surface by adding a breakline.

192 | Chapter 6 Project Management Tutorials


Modify the source object

1 With the surface clearly visible, click (the Polyline tool) and draw a
polyline anywhere on the surface.

2 Expand Open Drawings ➤ Project-XGND ➤ Surfaces ➤ XGND ➤


Definition.

3 In the surface Definition, right-click the Breaklines collection. Click Add.

4 In the Add Breaklines dialog box, optionally give the breakline a name.
Click OK. In the drawing window, click the polyline to convert it to a
breakline.

5 Click ➤ Save to save the changes to the surface.

Further exploration: If you want to see how the drawing icon appears to
another database user, complete the following steps:

■ On the Prospector tab, Master View, right-click the Projects collection and
click Log Out.

■ Right-click the Projects collection, click Log In, then log in as user kgreen.

■ In the Tutorial Vault Project, note the ‘checked out’ icon next to
Project-XGND.dwg.

■ Hover the cursor over the ‘checked out’ icon to see a tooltip that indicates
which user has checked out the drawing.

■ Log out as kgreen, then log in as pred.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 4: Checking In a Project Object (page


193).

Exercise 4: Checking In a Project Object


You check in a project object by checking in the checked-out drawing that
contains it.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Checking a Drawing
In to a Project.

Exercise 4: Checking In a Project Object | 193


In this exercise, you will check in the source drawing that contains the surface
XGND, which you modified in the previous exercise.
This exercise continues from Exercise 3: Checking Out and Modifying a Project
Object (page 192).
Before starting this exercise, ensure that you are logged in to the database as
pred, or the same user who checked out the drawing Project-XGND.dwg.

Check in a project object

1 On the Prospector tab, expand the Open Drawings collection.

2 Right-click Project-XGND, and click Check In.

3 In the first Check In Drawing dialog box, verify that Project-XGND.dwg


is selected.

4 Click Finish.
The drawing is checked in and closed.

5 Expand the Projects ➤ Tutorial Vault Project ➤ Drawings ➤ Source


Drawings collection. Select the Surfaces folder to display the list view.
In the list view, note that the Version for file Project-XGND.dwg has
changed from 1 to 2. Version 2 is the drawing containing the project
surface with the most recent modifications.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 5: Updating a Project Object (page


194).

Exercise 5: Updating a Project Object


When the drawing that contains a project object is checked in to the database,
the changes are immediately available to other drawings that reference the
object.
In this exercise you will open the drawing Project-1.dwg that references the
surface XGND, which was modified in the previous exercise.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Getting the Latest
Version of Project Objects.
This exercise continues from Exercise 4: Checking In a Project Object (page
193).

194 | Chapter 6 Project Management Tutorials


To update a project object

1 Click ➤ Open. Navigate to Civil 3D Projects folder (page


759)\Tutorial Vault Project\Production Drawings, and click the drawing
Project-1.dwg.

2 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, expand the Surfaces collection.


Right-click the surface XGND, and click Surface Properties.

3 In the Surface Properties dialog box, change the Surface Style to one that
will make the breaklines visible, such as any of the Contours styles.
Notice that the breaklines are displayed on the surface, but you cannot
move them. Also, because this surface is a reference object, the surface
collection in Prospector does not show the breaklines or other elements
of the surface definition that you cannot modify.
Further exploration: Keep the drawing Project-1.dwg open and check out
Project-XGND.dwg. Add another breakline to the master copy of the
surface, then right-click Project-1 and click Switch To to make this drawing
active. See how the change to the surface is reflected in a reference object
within a drawing that is already open.

To continue to the next tutorial, go to Creating and Modifying Project Point


Data (page 195).

Tutorial: Creating and Modifying Project Point


Data
This tutorial demonstrates how to create, access, and modify project point
data.
You will add points to a project database, check out and modify a project
point, and check the point back in.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Working with
Project Points.

Exercise 1: Adding Points to a Project


In this exercise, you will add point data to the project.

Tutorial: Creating and Modifying Project Point Data | 195


To create project points, you first create a drawing that contains the points.
When you are ready to share the points with others, you use the Add To Project
command to add the points to the project point database. The project points
can then be accessed by others.
After you create project points with the Add To Project command, a local copy
of the points remains in the drawing. The icons displayed in the points list
view indicate the state of a point with respect to the project.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Adding Points to
a Project.
In this exercise, you will add points to the project from the drawing
Project-XGND.dwg, which has already been added to the project.
This exercise continues from the Creating, Referencing, and Modifying Project
Object Data (page 188) tutorial.

Add points to the project

1 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, expand Projects collection ➤ Tutorial


Vault Project ➤ Drawings ➤ Source Drawings ➤ Surfaces folder.
Right-click drawing Project-XGND.dwg, and click Open (Read-Only).

2 On the Prospector tab, in the Open Drawings collection, under


Project-XGND, click Points to display the points list view.

3 In the points list view, select all the points by clicking the first row and
then pressing Ctrl+A.

4 Right-click, and then click Add to Project.


This operation may take a few moments.

NOTE You can also add all points in a drawing to a project by expanding
the Point Groups collections, right-clicking the _All Points point group, and
clicking Add Points To Project.

5 In the Add To Project dialog box, select Tutorial Vault Project. Click OK.

6 In the points lists view, the open lock icon is now displayed next to
each point. The icon indicates that it is a project point that is available
to be checked out.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Checking Out and Modifying Project


Points (page 197).

196 | Chapter 6 Project Management Tutorials


Exercise 2: Checking Out and Modifying Project Points
In this exercise, you will check out one project point and correct its elevation.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Checking Out
Points.
This exercise continues from Exercise 1: Adding Points to a Project (page 195).

To check points out

1 Click ➤ New.

2 In the Select Template dialog box, click _AutoCAD Civil 3D (Imperial)


NCS.dwt. Click Open.

3 Click ➤ Save As.

4 In the Save Drawing As dialog box, browse to the following location:


Civil 3D Projects folder (page 759)\Tutorial Vault Project\Production
Drawings

5 Save the file as Project-Point.dwg.

6 On the Prospector tab, expand the Projects ➤ Tutorial Vault Project


collection.

7 Click the Points collection to display the points list view.

8 Select point number 3.

9 Right-click and click Check Out.

10 In the Check Out dialog box, click OK.


The point is checked out to the active drawing, Project-Point.dwg.

11 In the Open Drawings collection, expand the Project-Point drawing and


click Points to display the list view.

The icon in the drawing list views indicates that the point is a
checked-out project point.

12 To modify point 3 by adjusting its elevation, click in the list view under
Point Elevation and enter 96.434.

Exercise 2: Checking Out and Modifying Project Points | 197


13 Save the drawing.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 3: Checking In Project Points (page


198).

Exercise 3: Checking In Project Points


In this exercise, you will check in a modified project point to update the master
version of the point in the project point database.
Checking in the updated point creates a version and makes your changes
available to others.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Checking In Points.
This exercise continues from Exercise 2: Checking Out and Modifying Project
Points (page 197).

Check points in

1 In the Open Drawings collection, expand the Project-Point drawing and


click the Points collection to display the points list view.

The icon displayed next to the modified point indicates that it is


checked out to you.

2 In the list view, select point number 3.

3 Right-click and click Check In.

4 In the Check In dialog box, click OK.

The icon displayed next to the point in the list view shows you that
the point has been checked in with your changes. If you expand the
Projects ➤ Tutorial Vault Project collection and click Points, you can
see in the list view that Point 3 is set to Version 2.

To continue to the next tutorial, go to Exporting and Importing Vault Projects


(page 198).

Tutorial: Exporting and Importing Vault Projects


This tutorial demonstrates how to export a Vault project, and how to import
a data shortcuts project into Vault.

198 | Chapter 6 Project Management Tutorials


You will export the Vault project that you created in the Vault Setup (page
187) tutorial. Then, you will import into Vault the data shortcut project that
you created in the Using Data Shortcuts (page 171) tutorial.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Working with
Vault Projects.

Exercise 1: Exporting a Vault Project


In this exercise, you will export a Vault project into a portable ZIP file.
Project export is useful for archiving a project, or packaging it for transmission
to another vault.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Exporting a Project.

Export a project

1 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, Projects collection, right-click Tutorial


Vault Project ➤ Export To ZIP file.

NOTE The Event Viewer might indicate that project drawings must be closed
before the project can be exported. Make sure that all project drawings are
closed, and then repeat Step 1.

2 In the Browse For Folder dialog box, navigate to the My Civil Tutorial Data
folder (page 759). Click OK.
While the operation continues, you see a progress bar, then a message
about successful export with the complete path to the ZIP file.

3 In the message dialog that reports the successful export, note the complete
path to the ZIP file, then click OK.

4 In Windows Explorer, navigate to the My Civil Tutorial Data folder (page


759).

5 Extract the ZIP file with WinZip or another file compression utility.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Importing a Data Shortcut Project


into Vault (page 200).

Exercise 1: Exporting a Vault Project | 199


Exercise 2: Importing a Data Shortcut Project into Vault
In this exercise, you will import a data shortcut project into Vault, creating a
new Vault project in the process.
Project import is more than just the reverse of export. You can use this
operation to import a data shortcut project into Vault, or to import several
drawings that are not part of a formal project. In the import process, any data
shortcut references are converted into Vault references.

NOTE Before you start this exercise, you must have created the data shortcuts
project that is described in the Using Data Shortcuts tutorial (page 171).

For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Importing a Project.
This exercise continues from Exercise 1: Exporting a Vault Project (page 199).

Import a project

1 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, right-click Projects node ➤ Import


From ➤ Folder.
Notice that you can also import from a ZIP file. Typically, you would use
this option to import a project that had been exported from Vault.

2 In the Browse For Folder dialog box, navigate to the My Civil Tutorial Data
folder (page 759). Select Tutorial Data Shortcuts Project. Click OK.
You see a progress bar and several command-line messages about the
operation. When the project is imported, it appears in the Projects
collection on the Prospector tab, and a copy is created in your working
folder Tutorial Data Shortcuts Project is now a Vault project.

200 | Chapter 6 Project Management Tutorials


Alignments Tutorials
7
These tutorials will get you started working with horizontal alignments, which are the basis
for modeling roads.

NOTE All drawings used in these tutorials are available in the tutorial drawings folder (page
759). If you want to save your work from these tutorials, save the drawings to the My Civil
Tutorial Data folder (page 759) so that you do not overwrite the original drawings.

For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Alignments.

Tutorial: Creating Alignments


This tutorial demonstrates how to create and modify alignments.
You begin creating an alignment by marking the location of tangents and points
of intersection for a road centerline alignment. During the creation process,
curves between the tangents can be created automatically, or added later. To
accommodate high-speed travel, spirals and superelevation can be added to the
curves. You can enter numeric parameter values for lines, curves, and spirals in
the Alignment Entities table.
If your alignment design must meet minimum standards, you can apply design
criteria to an alignment either before or after it is created. This tutorial
demonstrates basic alignment creation tasks. For information on applying design
criteria to an alignment, see the Designing an Alignment Using Local Standards
(page 239) tutorial.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Creating Alignments.

201
Exercise 1: Creating an Alignment from a Polyline
In this exercise, you will create an alignment from an existing AutoCAD
polyline.
This workflow enables you to use the standard AutoCAD drawing commands
to create a preliminary layout of an alignment, and then quickly convert the
layout to an AutoCAD Civil 3D alignment.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Creating an
Alignment from Graphic Entities.

Create an alignment from a polyline

1 Open drawing Align-1_M.dwg, which is available in the tutorial drawings


folder (page 759).
This drawing contains an existing ground surface and two blue polylines
that represent road centerlines. For clarity, the surface style displays the
surface boundary only.

2 Click Home tab ➤ Create Design panel ➤ Alignment drop-down ➤ Create

Alignment From Objects .

3 Select the polyline on the east side of the site. Press Enter.

NOTE When you click the polyline, click the northeast end to specify that
end as the start of the alignment.

202 | Chapter 7 Alignments Tutorials


4 Press Enter to accept the default alignment direction.

5 In the Create Alignment - From Polyline dialog box, specify the following
parameters:
■ Name: First Street

■ Alignment Style: Layout

■ Alignment Label Set: Major Minor And Geometry Points

6 Click OK.

Exercise 1: Creating an Alignment from a Polyline | 203


The existing polyline is converted to an alignment that uses the style and
labels that you specified. Notice that the station labels increment from
the right to the left. This happened because you clicked the right-hand
end of the polyline.

NOTE You can also lay out an alignment by drawing it. AutoCAD Civil 3D
comes with a variety of constraint-based drawing tools for laying out tangents,
curves, and spirals.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Creating an Alignment with the


Alignment Layout Tools (page 204).

Exercise 2: Creating an Alignment with the Alignment


Layout Tools
In this exercise, you will use the alignment layout tools to draw an alignment
that has spirals and curves.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Creating an
Alignment Using the Alignment Layout Tools.

204 | Chapter 7 Alignments Tutorials


This exercise continues from Exercise 1: Creating an Alignment from a Polyline
(page 202).

Specify alignment properties

1 Open Align-2.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759).
The drawing contains a surface marked with several circles, labeled A
through F.

NOTE Ensure that Object Snap (OSNAP) is turned on. For more information,
see Object Snapping (page 16).

2 Click Home tab ➤ Create Design panel ➤ Alignment


drop-down ➤ Alignment Creation Tools .

3 In the Create Alignment – Layout dialog box, accept the default values
for Name and Starting Station. Leave the Description field blank for this
exercise.

4 On the General tab, select the following settings:


■ Site: <None>

■ Alignment Style: Design Style

■ Alignment Layer: C-ROAD

■ Alignment Label Set: Standard

Setting the site to <None> prevents the alignment from interacting with
other objects in the drawing. The <None> selection is helpful when you
do not want parcels to be created when either intersecting alignments
form closed regions or an alignment crosses an existing parcel.

5 Click the Design Criteria tab.


The Starting Design Speed value specifies the default design speed at the
alignment starting station. Design speeds can be specified at other stations
along the alignment. If no other design speeds are specified, the Starting
Design Speed is applied to the entire alignment. Accept the default Starting
Design Speed value for this exercise.
The other options on this tab are used only if you want to ensure that
the alignment design meets specified design criteria. You do not apply
design criteria to the alignment in this exercise. You will learn how to

Exercise 2: Creating an Alignment with the Alignment Layout Tools | 205


use the design criteria feature in the Designing an Alignment that Refers
to Local Standards (page 239) tutorial.

6 Click OK.
The Alignment Layout Tools toolbar is displayed. It includes the controls
required to create and edit alignments.

Draw the alignment

1 In the Alignment Layout Tools toolbar, click the drop-down list and

select Curve and Spiral Settings. In the Curve and Spiral Settings
dialog box, you can specify the type of curve to be automatically placed
at every point of intersection (PI) between tangents.

2 In the Curve and Spiral Settings dialog box, specify the following
parameters:
■ Type: Clothoid

■ Spiral In: Selected

■ Curve: Selected

■ Spiral Out: Selected

■ Spiral In Length: 50.0000’

■ Radius: 150.0000’

■ Spiral Out Length: 50.0000’

3 Click OK.

4 On the Alignment Layout Tools toolbar, click the drop-down list .


Select Tangent-Tangent (With Curves).

5 Snap to the center of circle A to specify a start point for the alignment.

6 Stretch a line out, and specify additional PIs by snapping to the center
of circles B, C, and D (in order). Then, right-click to end the horizontal
alignment layout command.

7 Pan and zoom in the drawing to examine the style and content of the
labels. Note especially the geometry point labels marking the start and
end points of each line, spiral, and curve.

8 Zoom out until you can clearly see circles B, C, and D.

206 | Chapter 7 Alignments Tutorials


In the next steps, you will delete the spiral and curve sub-entities that
were automatically created. You will manually add new spiral and curve
sub-entities in later tutorial exercises.

Delete alignment sub-entities

1 In the Alignment Layout Tools toolbar, click Delete Sub-Entity. You


are prompted at the command line to select a sub-entity to delete.

2 Select the spiral-curve-spiral groups in circles B and C. Right-click to end


the operation.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 3: Adding Free Curves and Spirals to


an Alignment (page 207).

Exercise 3: Adding Free Curves and Spirals to an


Alignment
In this exercise, you will add a free curve and a free spiral-curve-spiral to a
simple alignment.

Exercise 3: Adding Free Curves and Spirals to an Alignment | 207


The drawing contains a simple alignment consisting of three tangents. In the
next few steps, you will add free curves at circles B and C.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topics Adding Curves
and Adding Curves with SpiralsAdding Curves with Spirals.
This exercise continues from Exercise 2: Creating an Alignment with the
Alignment Layout Tools (page 204).

Add a free curve between two tangents

NOTE This exercise uses Align-2.dwg with the modifications you made in the
previous exercise.

1 Set your drawing window so that you can see circles B and C on the
surface.

2 If the Alignment Layout Tools toolbar is not open, select the alignment.
Right-click and click Edit Alignment Geometry.

3 In the Alignment Layout Tools toolbar, click the drop-down list .

Select Free Curve Fillet (Between Two Entities, Radius).

4 As prompted on the command line, click the tangent that enters circle
B from the left (the ‘first entity’).

5 Click the tangent that exits from circle B on the right (the ‘next entity’).

6 Press Enter to select the default value of a curve less than 180 degrees.

7 Enter a radius value of 200. The curve is drawn between the tangents as
specified.

Add a free spiral-curve-spiral between two tangents

1 In the Alignment Layout Tools toolbar, click the arrow next to . Select

Free Spiral-Curve-Spiral (Between Two Entities).

2 As prompted on the command line, click the tangent that enters circle
C from the left (the ‘first entity’).

3 Click the tangent that exits circle C on the right (the ‘next entity’).

4 Press Enter to select the default value of a curve less than 180 degrees.

5 Enter a radius value of 200.

208 | Chapter 7 Alignments Tutorials


6 Enter a spiral in length of 50.

7 Enter a spiral out length of 50.

NOTE Notice that the default values that are shown on the command line
are the values you entered in the Curve and Spiral Settings dialog box in
Exercise 2: Creating an Alignment with the Alignment Layout Tools (page
204).

8 Exit the layout command by right-clicking in the drawing area.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 4: Adding Floating Curves to an


Alignment (page 209).

Exercise 4: Adding Floating Curves to an Alignment


In this exercise, you will add two floating curve entities to a simple alignment.
First, you will add a best fit floating curve that follows the most likely path
through a series of points. Then, you will add a floating reverse curve with
spirals.

Exercise 4: Adding Floating Curves to an Alignment | 209


The initial drawing shows a simple alignment consisting of three tangents
with curves. In the next few steps, you will add two floating curves to the end
of the alignment.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Adding Lines,
Curves, and Spirals to an Alignment.
This exercise continues from Exercise 3: Adding Free Curves and Spirals to an
Alignment (page 207).

Add a floating curve by best fit to the alignment

NOTE This exercise uses Align-2.dwg with the modifications you made in the
previous exercise, or you can open Align-3.dwg from the tutorial drawings folder
(page 759).

1 Pan and zoom until you can see circles D and E on the surface.

2 In the Layer Control list, in the C-POINTS row, click to turn on the
C-POINTS layer.
A group of points is displayed. You will use these points as a basis for
creating a floating curve that follows the most likely path through the
points.

NOTE If the points do not appear, enter REGEN on the command line.

3 If the Alignment Layout Tools toolbar is not open, select the alignment.
Right-click and click Edit Alignment Geometry.

4 In the Alignment Layout Tools toolbar, click the drop-down list .

Select Floating Curve - Best Fit.

5 As prompted on the command line, click the tangent that ends in circle
D (the ‘entity to attach to’).

6 In the Curve By Best Fit dialog box, make sure that From COGO Points
is selected. Click OK.

7 The command line prompts you to Select Point Objects or


[Numbers/Groups]. Enter G.

8 In the Point Groups dialog box, select _All Points. Click OK. The points
in the drawing are selected.

210 | Chapter 7 Alignments Tutorials


The Regression Data vista displays information about each of the points
that are included in the regression analysis. The drawing displays a dashed
red line indicating the path of the best fit curve. An X marks the location
of each regression data point.

NOTE The point numbers in the Pt No. column are sequentially generated
as regression data points are added or removed. They do not correspond to
the actual AutoCAD Civil 3D point numbers.

Now you will modify some of the regression data to better suit your
design.

9 In the Regression Data vista, select the Pass Through check box for Pt No.
16.
Selecting this check box specifies that if the curve does not deviate from
the regression data, it will always pass through point 16.

10 Click to create the best fit floating curve.


The Regression Data vista closes, and the regression point markers
disappear.

Exercise 4: Adding Floating Curves to an Alignment | 211


Modify the best fit curve

1 In the drawing, select the alignment. Click the grip at the end of the
floating curve, and drag it toward one of the other points. Click to place
the grip in its new location.

2 In the Alignment Layout Tools toolbar, click Edit Best Fit Data For
All Entities.
Notice that the original regression data is displayed in the Regression
Data vista, and the original best fit curve is displayed in the drawing. The

icon in the Regression Data vista indicates that the alignment layout
does not comply with the regression data. When you moved the grip in
step 1, you moved the pass-through point from the location you specified
earlier.

3 Click to synchronize the entity to the original regression data. Click

to close the Regression Data vista.


The entity returns to its original location.

4 In the Layer Control list, in the C-POINTS row, click to turn off the
C-POINTS layer.

212 | Chapter 7 Alignments Tutorials


To add a floating reverse curve with spirals to the alignment

1 On the Alignment Layout Tools toolbar, click the arrow next to .

Select Floating Reverse Curve with Spirals (From Curve, Radius,


Through Point).

2 As prompted on the command line, click the curve entity that ends in
circle E (the ‘curve to attach to’).

3 Enter a spiral in length of 75.

4 Enter a radius of 200.

5 Enter a spiral out length of 75.

6 Specify a pass-through point in circle F.


The reverse curve with spirals appears.

7 Exit the layout command by right-clicking in the drawing.

To continue to the next tutorial, go to Tutorial: Editing Alignments (page 213).

Tutorial: Editing Alignments


This tutorial demonstrates some common editing tasks for alignments.
Editing the layout parameter values of an alignment allows you to make fine
adjustments to alignment sub-entities. Grip editing provides a convenient
method of manually reshaping an alignment.

Tutorial: Editing Alignments | 213


For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Editing Alignments.

Exercise 1: Editing the Layout Parameter Values of an


Alignment
In this exercise, you will use the Alignment Entities vista and Alignment
Layout Parameters dialog box to edit the layout parameter values of an
alignment.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Editing Alignment
Entity Layout Parameters.
This exercise continues from the Creating Alignments (page 201) tutorial.

NOTE Ensure that Dynamic Input(DYN) is turned on. For more information, see
the Dynamic Input (page 17)tutorial.

Open the parametric editing windows

1 Open Align-4.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759).
The drawing contains a surface marked with several circles, labeled A
through F.

NOTE Ensure that Object Snap (OSNAP) is turned on. For more information,
see Object Snapping (page 16).

2 If the Alignment Layout Tools toolbar is not open, click Alignment


tab ➤ Modify panel ➤ Geometry Editor . Select the alignment in the
drawing when prompted.

3 On the Alignment Layout Tools toolbar, click Alignment Grid View


.
Examine the Alignment Entities table in Panorama. In the first column,
alignment segments are numbered in the order in which they are solved.
Each row of the table shows useful design data about a specific entity.
Each curve group has a two-part entity number and a separate table row
for each spiral and curve. Values shown in black can be edited.

4 On the Alignment Layout Tools toolbar, click Sub-Entity Editor . The


Alignment Layout Parameters window is displayed, containing no data.

214 | Chapter 7 Alignments Tutorials


5 In the Alignment Entities table, click any row for segment no. 4, which
is the free spiral-curve-spiral entity in circle C in your drawing window.
The design data for all three sub-entities is displayed in a two-column
table in the Alignment Layout Parameters window, where data is easy to
review and edit.
If your design requires precise values for minimum curve radius, length,
or spiral A values, you can use the Alignment Layout Parameters window
to enter the values.

6 In the Alignment Layout Parameters window, change the Length value


for a spiral to a higher number, such as 100, and press Enter.
Note how this immediately increases the spiral length in three locations:
in both the Alignment Layout Parameters window and the Alignment
Entities table, numeric values change; in the drawing window, geometry
point labels move and their station values change, and the length of the
spiral itself changes.
Further exploration: Experiment with changing the curve radius. In the
Alignment Entities table, click a line or curve entity and note the data
that you can edit in the Alignment Layout Parameters window.

7 Press Esc to clear the Alignment Layout Parameters dialog box.

Display a range of sub-entities in the Alignment Entities vista

1 In the drawing, Ctrl+click the curve entity in circle B.


The Alignment Entities vista displays only the attributes for the curve
entity.

2 In the drawing, Ctrl+click the spiral-curve-spiral entity in circle C.


Notice that the Alignment Entities vista now displays the attributes for
each of the entities you selected, plus the tangent between them. To
display the parameters of another entity in the Alignment Layout
Parameters dialog box, click the appropriate row in the Alignment Entities
vista.

3 Press Esc to display all alignment entities on the Alignment Entities vista.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Grip Editing an Alignment (page


216).

Exercise 1: Editing the Layout Parameter Values of an Alignment | 215


Exercise 2: Grip Editing an Alignment
In this exercise, you will use grips to move alignment curves.
You will learn how to grip edit offset and curb return alignments in the
Working with Offset and Curb Return Alignments (page 223) tutorial.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Editing Alignments
Using Grips.
This exercise continues from Exercise 1: Editing the Layout Parameter Values
of an Alignment (page 214).

NOTE Ensure that Dynamic Input (DYN) is turned on, and OSNAP is turned off.
For more information, see the Tutorial: Using Basic Functionality (page 15) tutorial.

Grip edit a free curve entity

NOTE This exercise uses Align-4.dwg with the modifications you made in the
previous exercise.

1 Zoom to the area around circle B.

2 Click the alignment. Grips appear at the curve ends, midpoint, and at
the point of intersection (PI).

3 Click the midpoint grip at the midpoint of the curve. It turns red.

4 Click a new location for the curve to pass through.


Notice that the curves and tangents remain tangent to each other, but
both endpoints move along the tangents.

5 Click the radius grip directly above the pass-through point grip and
experiment with moving it.
Notice that this grip affects only the curve radius and constrained to the
direction of the radius change.

6 Select either an endpoint grip or the PI grip, and experiment with


reshaping the curve in different ways.

Grip edit a floating curve entity

1 Pan to the area around circles D and E.

2 Select the square grip in circle D. It turns red.

216 | Chapter 7 Alignments Tutorials


3 Click a new location for the grip.

Notice that the pass-through point grip in circle F does not move.

4 Select the pass-through point grip in circle E. It turns red.

5 Click a new location for the grip.

Notice that the pass-through point grip in circle D does not move.
The spiral-curve entity in circle D moves along the preceding tangent to
accommodate the new pass-through point.
To see how grip editing affects curve specifications, in the next few steps
you will add a segment label to the curve. This label shows curve length
and radius. The values update each time you reshape the curve.
Notice that with this type of curve, if you edit the triangular PI grip, the
curve radius does not change.

6 Click Annotate tab ➤ Labels & Tables panel ➤ Add Labels


menu ➤ Alignment ➤ Single Segment .

7 Click the curve in circle D. A label is placed on the curve.

8 Press Enter to end the label command.

9 Click the curve to activate the grips.

10 Edit the curve using the pass-through point grip.


Notice that while the grip is active, you can use dynamic input to enter
a specific pass-through point. You may also enter a specific value in the
Alignment Layout Parameters window.

11 Press Esc to deselect the alignment. The label shows the new length of
the curve.

12 Close this drawing.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 3: Applying a Mask to an Alignment


(page 217).

Exercise 3: Applying a Mask to an Alignment


In this exercise, you will hide a portion of an alignment from view.

Exercise 3: Applying a Mask to an Alignment | 217


When you apply a mask to a portion of an alignment, the alignment
sub-entities, labels, and marker points are not drawn. These items still exist,
but are hidden from view.
This feature is useful when working on an intersection. In many cases, you
do not need to see the alignment geometry that passes through the
intersection. In this exercise, you will mask the portion of an offset alignment
that passes through an intersection.

For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Alignment
Properties.
This exercise continues from Exercise 2: Grip Editing an Alignment (page 216).

218 | Chapter 7 Alignments Tutorials


Specify the alignment stations to mask

1 Open Align-5.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759).
The drawing contains a four-way intersection. Notice that the offset
alignments along Road A are not displayed in the intersection area. Each
of these alignments has a mask applied to the region that passes through
the intersection. In the following steps, you will apply a mask to the offset
alignments along Road B.

2 Select the offset alignment on the north side of Road B.

3 Click Alignment tab ➤ Modify panel ➤ Alignment Properties


drop-down ➤ Alignment Properties .

Exercise 3: Applying a Mask to an Alignment | 219


4 In the Alignment Properties dialog box, click the Mask tab.

5 On the Mask tab, click .

6 In the drawing, click the end point on the northwest curb return to specify
the start point of the masked region.

7 Click the end point on the northeast curb return to specify the end point
of the masked region.

220 | Chapter 7 Alignments Tutorials


8 In the Alignment Properties dialog box, click Apply.
The mask is applied to the specified region.

Exercise 3: Applying a Mask to an Alignment | 221


Further exploration: Apply masks to the west-to-east road offset alignments.

222 | Chapter 7 Alignments Tutorials


To continue to the next tutorial, go to Working with Offset Alignments (page
223).

Tutorial: Working with Offset Alignments


This tutorial demonstrates how to create and modify offset alignments that
are dynamically linked to a centerline alignment.
The process of creating offset alignments is similar to that of the standard
AutoCAD OFFSET command. However, an offset alignment is dynamically
linked to either the geometry or stationing of the centerline alignment from
which it was created. As the parent alignment geometry changes, the offset
alignment updates.

Tutorial: Working with Offset Alignments | 223


When your design requires a varying offset value, you can add widening
regions to an offset alignment. This option is useful in roadway design, when
you must add turn lanes, bus bays, or parking lanes.
Add widening regions to a new or existing offset alignment.

NOTE Most of the procedures in this tutorial can be applied to adding widening
regions to curb return alignments, which are automatically generated as part of
the intersection creation process.

For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Creating Offset
Alignments.

Exercise 1: Creating Offset Alignments


In this exercise, you will create dynamic offset alignments for an existing
centerline alignment.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Creating Offset
Alignments.

224 | Chapter 7 Alignments Tutorials


Create offsets of a centerline alignment

1 Open Align-6A.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759).
The drawing contains a surface and an alignment.

2 Click Home tab ➤ Create Design panel ➤ Alignment drop-down ➤ Create


Offset Alignment .

3 Select the alignment in the drawing.

4 In the Create Offset Alignments dialog box, specify the following


parameters:
■ No. Of Offsets On Left: 1

Exercise 1: Creating Offset Alignments | 225


■ No. Of Offsets On Right: 1

■ Incremental Offset On Left: 12

■ Incremental Offset On Right: 12

■ Alignment Style: ETW

■ Alignment Label Set: Offset Labels

You can also specify design criteria for the offset alignments.

5 Click OK.
An offset alignment is created on either side of the centerline alignment.

226 | Chapter 7 Alignments Tutorials


6 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, expand the Alignments ➤
Offset Alignment collection.
Notice that the two alignments you created were placed in the Offset
Alignments collection. You can create profiles, profile views, and sample
line groups from offset alignments, just as you can for standard, Centerline
alignments.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Editing an Offset Alignment (page


227).

Exercise 2: Editing an Offset Alignment


In this exercise, you will examine the offset alignment editing tools.
The geometry editing tools that are available for an offset alignment depend
on whether the alignment is static or dynamic. If the offset alignment is
dynamically linked to the parent centerline alignment, then you cannot edit
the offset alignment geometry. If the offset alignment is static, then you can
use the tools on the Alignment Layout Tools toolbar.
An Offset Parameters tab is available in the Alignment Properties dialog box.
From this location, you can change parameters such as nominal offset value
and start and end stations.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Editing Offset
Alignments and Widenings.
This exercise continues from Exercise 1: Creating Offset Alignments (page 224).

Examine the offset alignment geometry

1 Open Align-6B.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759).
The drawing contains a surface and a centerline alignment with two offset
alignments.

2 Select the left offset alignment.

Exercise 2: Editing an Offset Alignment | 227


3 Click Alignment tab ➤ Modify panel ➤ Geometry Editor .
On the Alignment Layout Tools toolbar, most tools are not available,
because the offset alignment geometry is dynamically linked to the parent
alignment. You can use the Alignment Entities vista and Alignment
Layout Parameters window to view the parameters of a dynamic offset
alignment, but you cannot change the values.

Edit the offset alignment parameters

1 Click Alignment tab ➤ Modify panel ➤ Alignment Properties


drop-down ➤ Alignment Properties .

228 | Chapter 7 Alignments Tutorials


2 In the Alignment Properties dialog box, on the Information tab, expand
the Type list.
You can change an offset alignment to any of the types in this list.
However, if you change the alignment type, the alignment will not be
dynamically linked to the centerline alignment. For information about
the differences between the alignment types, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D
Help topic Alignment Properties.

3 Press Esc.

4 Click the Offset Parameters tab.


You use this tab to refine the offset alignment design. If you do not want
the offset alignment to react to changes in the parent alignment geometry,
use the Update Mode list to make the alignment static.

NOTE The Offset Parameters tab is displayed in the Alignment Properties


dialog box only for offset alignments.

5 Specify the following parameters:


■ Nominal Offset Value: --24.0000

■ End Station: 10+00

6 Click OK.
The offset alignment now ends at station 10+00, and is offset twice as
much as the offset alignment on the opposite side of the centerline.

Exercise 2: Editing an Offset Alignment | 229


Further exploration: Experiment with the centerline alignment grips. Notice
that when you change the centerline alignment geometry, the geometry of
the offset alignment automatically updates.
To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 3: Adding a Widening to an Offset
Alignment (page 230).

Exercise 3: Adding a Widening to an Offset Alignment


In this exercise, you will add dynamic widening regions between specified
stations of an offset alignment.
Widening regions are useful for creating bus bays, medians, turn lanes, and
parking lanes.

230 | Chapter 7 Alignments Tutorials


For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Widenings.
This exercise continues from Exercise 2: Editing an Offset Alignment (page
227).

Create a widening on an offset alignment

1 Open Align-6C.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759).
The drawing contains a surface and a centerline alignment with two offset
alignments.

2 Select the offset alignment on the right-hand side of the centerline


alignment.

Exercise 3: Adding a Widening to an Offset Alignment | 231


3 Click Offset Alignment tab ➤ Modify panel ➤ Add Widening .

4 Follow the command line prompts to specify the following parameters:


■ Create Widening Portion As A New Alignment?: No

■ Start Station: 150

■ End Station: 1000

■ Widening Offset: 24

The widening region is created, and the parameters you entered are
displayed in the Offset Alignment Parameters dialog box. You will learn
how to use this dialog box and the grips to modify the offset alignment
in Exercise 4: Editing an Offset Widening (page 234).

Add a widening region to a widening region

1 Select the offset alignment that is on the right-hand side of the centerline
alignment. Right-click. Click Edit Offset Parameters.

NOTE You can also use the grip to add a widening region.

232 | Chapter 7 Alignments Tutorials


The offset alignment parameters, including the parameters of the existing
widening, are displayed in the Offset Alignment Parameters dialog box.

2 In the Offset Parameters dialog box, click Add Widening.

3 Follow the command line prompts to specify the following parameters:


■ Start Station: 550

■ End Station: 750

■ Widening Offset: 42

4 Press Esc to deselect the offset alignment.


The second widening region is created within the original widening
region. The parameters for the new widening region are displayed in the
Offset Alignment Parameters dialog box.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 4: Editing an Offset Widening (page


234).

Exercise 3: Adding a Widening to an Offset Alignment | 233


Exercise 4: Editing an Offset Widening
In this exercise, you will change the transition between an offset alignment
and its widening region, and then use grips to modify the widening geometry.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Editing Offset
Alignments and Widenings.
This exercise continues from Exercise 3: Adding a Widening to an Offset
Alignment (page 230).

Change the widening transition

1 Open Align-6D.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759).
The drawing contains a surface and a centerline alignment with two offset
alignments. The offset alignment on the right-hand side of the centerline
alignment has two widening regions.

2 Select the offset alignment that is on the right-hand side of the centerline
alignment. Right-click. Click Edit Offset Parameters.
In the Offset Alignment Parameters dialog box, notice that the offset
alignment is divided into a series of regions and transitions. Each region
represents the offset values of the sequential station ranges along the
centerline alignment. The transitions represent the geometry that joins
one region to the next.

3 In the Offset Alignment Parameters dialog box, click .

4 In the Property column, select each of the Region and Transition entries
in turn.
Notice that each region and transition is highlighted in the drawing as
you select it.

5 Expand the Region 1 and Region 2 categories.


The Region Type values are different for these two regions. Region 1 is
set to Nominal, which means that the Nominal Offset value at the top
of the dialog box is applied to this region. The Nominal Offset values are
applied to stations that are not within a widening region.
The Region Type for Region 2 is set to Specific, and an Offset Value of
24.0000’ is displayed. These parameters indicate that the offset alignment
was widened to 24 feet from the centerline alignment, starting at Station
1+50. Regions 3 and 4 represent the station ranges and offset values of
subsequent widening regions.

234 | Chapter 7 Alignments Tutorials


6 Expand the Transition 2 ➤ Transition Parameters category.

7 Change the Transition Type from Linear to Curve-Line-Curve.


The transition changes to a line with a curve on either end.

8 Under Transition Parameters, for Transition Length, enter 50.


The transition updates to reflect your changes.

Grip edit the widening region

1 On the centerline alignment, select the widening start grip near


Station 4+50. The grip turns red.

2 Click to place the grip at Station 5+00.

Exercise 4: Editing an Offset Widening | 235


Notice that when you changed the starting location of the widening, the
transition moved with it, while its parameters were maintained.

3 On the offset alignment, click the offset grip. The grip turns red.

4 While the grip is active, enter 50 as the new offset value.


The widening region expands to accommodate the new offset value.

236 | Chapter 7 Alignments Tutorials


NOTE The grip enables you to add another widening region.

5 Click the grip.

The grips are now gray, and grips are displayed at the beginning
and end of each transition sub-entity. These grips are used to modify the
transition geometry.

Exercise 4: Editing an Offset Widening | 237


6 Experiment with using the grips to change the transition geometry.
As you grip-edit the transition geometry, notice that the applicable
parameter values are automatically updated in the Offset Parameters
dialog box.

To continue to the next tutorial, go to Designing an Alignment that Refers to


Local Standards (page 239).

238 | Chapter 7 Alignments Tutorials


Tutorial: Designing an Alignment that Refers to
Local Standards
This tutorial demonstrates how to validate that your alignment design meets
criteria specified by a local agency.
To create an alignment using design criteria, you use the same basic workflow
that you use to create an alignment without design criteria. During alignment
creation, you can select a design criteria file, from which you can specify the
superelevation attainment method and minimum radius and transition (spiral)
length tables. Design criteria files that contain AASHTO design standards are
included with AutoCAD Civil 3D. If your local design standards differ from
the AASHTO standards, you can create a custom design criteria file using the
Design Criteria Editor dialog box.
Some alignment design criteria is not available in table form in the design
criteria file. For these criteria, you can define design checks to validate design
standards. To apply a design check to an alignment, you must add it to a
design check set.
If the design parameters for a sub-entity violate a design check or the minimum
values established in the design criteria file, a warning symbol appears on the
sub-entity in the drawing window, and next to the violated value in the
Alignment Entities vista and Alignment Layout Parameters dialog box. When
you hover the cursor over a warning symbol, a tooltip displays the standard
that has been violated. The display of the warning symbol is controlled by
the alignment style.

NOTE You can also use the Design Criteria tab on the Alignment Properties dialog
box to apply design criteria to an alignment after it has been created.

For more information, see Criteria-Based Alignment Design.

Exercise 1: Drawing an Alignment that Refers to Design


Criteria
In this exercise, you will use the criteria-based design tools to create an
alignment that complies with specified standards.
This exercise is divided into two parts:

■ First, you will specify design criteria for an alignment as you create it, and
then draw a series of alignment entities that violate the design criteria.

Tutorial: Designing an Alignment that Refers to Local Standards | 239


You will correct the violations in Exercise 2: Viewing and Correcting
Alignment Design Criteria Violations (page 244).

■ Second, you will create an alignment entity that meets the design criteria
specified in the design criteria file. You will use the minimum default
values that are displayed on the command line to ensure that the entity
meets the specified design criteria.

For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Creating an
Alignment Using the Alignment Layout Tools.

Specify design criteria for an alignment

1 Open Align-7A.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759).
The drawing contains a surface marked with several circles, labeled A
through E.

NOTE Ensure that Object Snap (OSNAP) is turned on. For more information,
see Object Snapping (page 16).

2 Click Home tab ➤ Create Design panel ➤ Alignment


drop-down ➤ Alignment Creation Tools .

3 In the Create Alignment – Layout dialog box, accept the default values
for Name and Starting Station. Leave the Description field blank for this
exercise.

4 On the General tab, specify the following parameters:


■ Site: <None>

■ Alignment Style: Design Style

■ Alignment Layer: C-ROAD

■ Alignment Label Set: Major Minor and Geometry Points

5 On the Design Criteria tab, for Starting Design Speed, enter 50 km/h.
This speed will be applied to the starting station of the alignment. You
can add design speeds as needed to other stations. A design speed is
applied to all subsequent stations until either the next station that has
an assigned design speed or the alignment ending station.

6 Select the Use Criteria-Based Design check box.

240 | Chapter 7 Alignments Tutorials


When this option is selected, the criteria-based design tools are available.
There are two check boxes that are selected by default:
■ Use Design Criteria File—The design criteria file is an XML file that
contains minimum design standards for alignment and profile objects.
The design criteria file can be customized to support local design
standards for design speed, superelevation, and minimum speed,
radius, and length of individual entities. The Default Criteria table
lists the properties that are included in the default design criteria file,
the location of which is displayed in the field above the Default
Criteria table.
You will learn more about the design criteria file in Exercise 4:
Modifying a Design Criteria File (page 250).

■ Use Design Check Set—Design checks are user-defined formulas that


verify alignment and profile parameters that are not contained in the
design criteria file. Design checks must be included in a design check
set, which is applied to an alignment or profile.

7 In the Use Design Criteria File area, click .

8 In the Select Design Speed Table dialog box, select _Autodesk Civil 3D
Metric Roadway Design Standards.xml. Click Open.
For this exercise, you will use AASHTO 2001 standards, which are included
in the provided design criteria files. You will learn about creating a custom
design criteria file in Exercise 4: Modifying a Design Criteria File (page
250).

9 In the Default Criteria table, in the Minimum Radius Table row, change
the Value to AASHTO 2001 eMax 6%.

10 In the Use Design Check Set list, select 50kmh Roadway Length Checks.
Click OK.
This design check set contains a simple design check. You will create
another design check and add it to this design check set in Exercise 3:
Working with Design Checks (page 247).

Draw alignment entities that meet the specified design criteria

1 On the Alignment Layout Tools toolbar, click Tangent-Tangent (No


Curves).

2 Snap to the center of Circle A to specify a start point for the alignment.
Stretch a line out, and specify additional PIs by snapping to the center

Exercise 1: Drawing an Alignment that Refers to Design Criteria | 241


of Circles B, C, and D (in order). Then, right-click to end the horizontal
alignment layout command.

3 On the Alignment Layout Tools toolbar, click Free Spiral-Curve-Spiral


(Between Two Entities).

4 As prompted on the command line, click the tangent entity that enters
Circle B from the left (the ‘first entity’).

5 Click the tangent that exits Circle B on the right (the ‘next entity’).

6 Press Enter to accept the default value of a curve solution angle that is
less than 180 degrees.

7 For radius, enter 75.


Notice that the Specify Radius prompt includes a default value. This value
is the minimum acceptable curve radius at the current design speed. The
minimum value is contained in the Minimum Radius Table in the design
criteria file. You can enter a different value, as long as it is greater than
the default minimum value that is displayed. For this exercise, you will
use values that do not meet the design criteria, and then examine the
results.

8 For spiral in length, enter 25.

9 For spiral out length, enter 25.

10 In the Alignment Layout Tools toolbar, click the drop-down list .

Click Free Curve Fillet (Between Two Entities, Radius).

11 As prompted on the command line, click the tangent that enters Circle
C from the left (the ‘first entity’).

12 Click the tangent that exits from Circle C on the right (the ‘next entity’).

13 Press Enter to select the default value of a curve less than 180 degrees.

14 Press Enter to select the minimum radius of 90.000m.

15 Right-click to end the command.

Notice that in the drawing window, symbols appear on the curve


entities you created. The symbols indicate that the entities violate the
specified design criteria. You will learn how to correct these violations
in Exercise 2: Viewing and Correcting Alignment Design Criteria
Violations (page 244).

242 | Chapter 7 Alignments Tutorials


In step 14, you accepted the minimum radius value specified in the design
criteria file, yet a warning symbol is displayed on the curve. This happened
because while the curve meets the design criteria specified in the design
criteria file, it violates the design check that is in the design check set.
You will learn how to correct design criteria and design check violations
in the next exercise.

Next, you will add another curve entity and examine the results.

Add a sub-entity that meets design criteria

1 On the Alignment Layout Tools toolbar, click the drop-down list .

Select More Floating Curves ➤ Floating Curve (Entity End, Radius,


Length).

2 As prompted on the command line, click the tangent entity that ends in
Circle D (the ‘entity to attach to’).

TIP The warning symbols do not automatically scale when you zoom in.
Enter REGEN on the command line to resize the warning symbols.

3 On the command line, enter O to specify the counterclockwise direction.

4 Enter a radius value of 200.000m.

5 When prompted to specify a curve length, click in the center of Circle


D, and then click in the center of Circle E.
The curve is displayed in the drawing. The length value is the distance
between the two points that you clicked.

6 Right-click to end the command.

Exercise 1: Drawing an Alignment that Refers to Design Criteria | 243


Notice that a warning symbol is not displayed on this curve. The radius
value you entered in step 4 exceeds the minimum value defined in the
minimum radius table that you specified.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Viewing and Correcting Alignment


Design Criteria Violations (page 244).

Exercise 2: Viewing and Correcting Alignment Design


Criteria Violations
In this exercise, you will examine alignment design criteria violations, and
then learn how to correct a criteria violation.
When a sub-entity violates either a criteria or design check, a warning symbol
is displayed on the sub-entity in the drawing window, Alignment Entities
vista, and Alignment Layout Parameters dialog box. When the cursor is hovered
over a warning symbol in the drawing window, a tooltip displays information
about the violation. If a design criteria has been violated, the tooltip displays
the criteria that has been violated, as well as the minimum value required to
meet the criteria. If a design check has been violated, the tooltip displays the
name of the design check that has been violated.
For more information, see Viewing and Correcting Alignment Design Criteria
Violations.
This exercise continues from Exercise 1: Drawing an Alignment that Refers to
Design Criteria (page 239).

Check the alignment design for criteria violations

1 Open Align-7B.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759).

2 Pan and zoom until you can see Circles B and C on the surface.

TIP The warning symbols do not automatically scale when you zoom in.
Enter REGEN on the command line to resize the warning symbols.

244 | Chapter 7 Alignments Tutorials


3 Hover the cursor over the middle symbol in Circle B.
The tooltips are a convenient way to review design criteria violations in
the drawing window. Two violations are displayed in the tooltip:
■ First, the curve does not meet the recommended minimum radius.
The curve radius and minimum acceptable parameter values are both
displayed.

■ Second, the curve violates a design check that has been applied to the
alignment. Notice that the name of the design check is displayed, but
not the current or recommended values. Values are not displayed
because design checks are custom formulas that are created by the
user.

NOTE If a sub-entity violates multiple criteria or design checks, only a single


symbol is displayed on the sub-entity. To clear a symbol from a sub-entity,
all the violations must be cleared.

4 If the Alignment Layout Tools toolbar is not open, select the alignment.
Right-click. Click Edit Alignment Geometry.

5 On the Alignment Layout Tools toolbar, click Alignment Grid View


.

In the Alignment Entities vista, in rows 2.1 through 2.3, a warning


symbol appears in the No. column, as well as in several other columns.
Warning symbols appear next to each value that violates the design
criteria that are specified in the design criteria file.

Exercise 2: Viewing and Correcting Alignment Design Criteria Violations | 245


6 In row 2.2, hover the cursor over the warning symbol in the No.
column.
Notice that the tooltip displays the design criteria and design checks that
have been violated.

7 Hover the cursor over the warning symbol in row 4.


Notice that the name of the design check that has been violated is
displayed in the tooltip. Also notice that warning symbols are not
displayed in any other cells in this row. Design checks are custom
mathematical formulas that return either a true or false value. They
indicate whether the applicable entities violate the conditions in the
design check, but do not specify how to correct the violation. You will
learn more about design checks in Exercise 3: Working with Design Checks
(page 247).

8 On the Alignment Layout Tools toolbar, click Sub-Entity Editor .


The Alignment Layout Parameters window is displayed, containing no
data.

9 In the Alignment Entities vista, click any row for segment No. 2, which
is the spiral-curve-spiral entity in Circle B.
The design data for all three sub-entities is displayed in a three-column
table in the Alignment Layout Parameters window, where data is easy to
review and edit.
Notice that in the Alignment Layout Parameters window, in the Design

Criteria panel, a symbol is displayed next to each design criteria


property that has been violated. In the Layout Parameters panel, the
Value column displays the actual parameters of each sub-entity. The
Constraints column displays the design criteria values that the sub-entities

must meet. A symbol is displayed next to each parameter that violates


the design criteria. As is true in the drawing window and Alignment
Entities Vista, the design check that has been violated is displayed, but
individual parameters that violate the check are not marked.

Correct design criteria violations

1 In the Alignment Layout Parameters window, on the Layout Parameters


panel, change the Spiral In Length Value to 33.000m. Press Enter.
Notice that the warning symbol is cleared from the Spiral In Length row.

246 | Chapter 7 Alignments Tutorials


2 Change the Spiral Out Length Value to 33.000m. Press Enter.

3 Change the Curve Radius Value to 100.000m. Press Enter.

The warning symbol is cleared from the Curve Radius row, as well as
from the Alignment Entities vista.
Notice that the warning symbol is still displayed on all the curve
sub-entity. The curve still violates the design check. To clear the warning
symbols, all sub-entities in the group must meet the values specified in
both the design criteria file and the applicable design checks.

4 In the Alignment Entities vista, in row 2.2, examine the Length column.
Notice that the Length value is less than the value of 40 that is specified
by the design check. Notice that you cannot edit the Length value for
this type of curve. However, you can increase the curve radius to increase
the curve length.

5 In row 2.2, change the Radius value to 200.000m. Press Enter.

6 In the Alignment Entities vista, select row 4. In the Length column,


change the value to 40.000m. Press Enter.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 3: Working with Design Checks (page


247).

Exercise 3: Working with Design Checks


In this exercise, you will create an alignment design check, add the design
check to a design check set, and then apply the design check set to an
alignment.
To create a design check, you set up a mathematical formula, using existing
alignment sub-entity properties. The complexity of design check formulas can
vary greatly. In this exercise, you will create a relatively simple design check
that validates whether the tangent length meets a minimum value at a given
design speed.

NOTE The processes for creating design checks for alignments and profiles are
very similar. The basic workflow that is demonstrated in this exercise can be used
for both alignment and profile design checks.

For more information, see Alignment Design Checks.

Exercise 3: Working with Design Checks | 247


This exercise continues from Exercise 2: Viewing and Correcting Alignment
Design Criteria Violations (page 244).

Create an alignment design check

1 Open Align-7C.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759).

2 In Toolspace, on the Settings tab, expand the Alignment ➤ Design


Checks collection.
Notice that five collections are available. The Design Check Sets collection
contains combinations of design checks. A design check must be added
to a design check set before it can be applied to an alignment.
The other four collections contain the design checks for each type of
alignment entity. Each entity type has specific properties that can be
checked. When you create a design check set, you specify the type of
entity you want to check, and then the specific design check you want
to apply to that entity. You can apply multiple design checks to each
entity type.

NOTE The Tangent Intersection collection contains design checks for spiral
and curve groups.

3 Right-click the Line collection. Click New.

4 In the New Design Check dialog box, for Name, enter L>=310m @ 50km/h.

BEST PRACTICE Because design check tooltips do not display specific values,
a design check name should be specific and unique. Use the mathematical
formula or other specific information to simplify the process of correcting a
design check violation.

5 For Description, enter Tangent length must be >= 310m if design speed
is >= 50km/h.

6 Click Insert Function. Click IF.


The IF function is displayed in the Design Check field.

7 Click Insert Property. Select Design Speed.

8 In the Design Check field, use the keypad to enter >=50, (including the
comma) after the {Design Speed} property.

248 | Chapter 7 Alignments Tutorials


9 Click Insert Property. Select Length.

10 In the Design Check field, enter >=310,1) (including the closing


parenthesis).
The following formula should be displayed in the Design Check field:
IF({Design Speed}>=50,Length>=310,1)

NOTE In this formula, the ending numeral 1 specifies that the preceding
formula is acceptable. If the entity parameters do not meet the values specified
in the formula, a violation is issued.

11 Click OK.

12 In Toolspace, on the Settings tab, expand the Alignment ➤ Design


Checks ➤ Line collection.
The design check you created is displayed in the Line collection.

Add a design check to a design check set

1 In Toolspace, on the Settings tab, expand the Alignment ➤ Design


Checks ➤ Design Check Sets collection.

2 Right-click the 50kmh Roadway Length Checks design check set. Click
Edit.
This is the design check set that is applied to the alignment in the current
drawing. Notice that the design checks that are in the selected design
check set are displayed in the Toolspace list view.

TIP To create a new, empty design check set, right-click the Design Check
Sets collection and click New.

3 In the Alignment Design Check Set dialog box, click the Design Checks
tab.
The table on this tab lists the design checks that are currently in the
design check set. The drop-down lists above the table allow you to add
design checks to the set.

4 In the Type list, select Line.

5 In the Line Checks list, select L>=310m @ 50km/h, which is the design
check that you created in the previous procedure. Click Add. Click OK.

Exercise 3: Working with Design Checks | 249


6 If the Alignment Layout Tools toolbar is not open, select the alignment.
Right-click. Click Edit Alignment Geometry.

7 On the Alignment Layout Tools toolbar, click Alignment Grid View

. Click Sub-Entity Editor .

8 In the Alignment Entities vista, select row 5.

9 In the Alignment Layout Parameters dialog box, examine the Length


value.
In the Design Checks panel, notice that a warning symbol is displayed
next to the L>=310m @ 50km/h design check you created. In the Layout
Parameters panel, notice that the Length value is less than the 310 meters
specified by the design check.

Further exploration: Increase the length of the line until it meets or exceeds
310 meters. This is a fixed line that was created using the Tangent-Tangent
(No Curves) command, so you must move the endpoint grip inside Circle D
to increase the length.
To continue to the next tutorial, go to Exercise 4: Modifying a Design Criteria
File (page 250).

Exercise 4: Modifying a Design Criteria File


In this exercise, you will add a radius and speed table to the design criteria
file.
If your local agency standards differ from the standards in the supplied design
criteria file, you can use the Design Criteria Editor dialog box to customize
the file to support your local standards.
In this exercise, you will add a minimum radius table to an existing design
criteria file, and then save the file under a new name.
For more information, see Design Criteria Files.
This exercise continues from Exercise 3: Working with Design Checks (page
247).

Add a minimum radius table

1 Open Align-7C.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759).

250 | Chapter 7 Alignments Tutorials


2 In the drawing, select the alignment.

3 Click Alignment tab ➤ Modify panel ➤ Design Criteria Editor .


When the Design Criteria Editor dialog box opens, it displays the design

criteria for the default design criteria file. The folders on the left side
of the dialog box contain tables that specify the units of measure used
in the design criteria file, and design criteria tables for alignments and
profiles. You can use this dialog box to modify the criteria in the current
file, open another file, or create a new file. In the following steps, you
will add a criteria table to an existing file, and then save the changes as
a new file.

4 On the left side of the dialog box, expand the Alignments ➤ Minimum
Radius Tables collection.

The collection contains several minimum radius tables.

5 Right-click Minimum Radius Tables. Click New Minimum Radius Table.

An empty table appears at the end of the Minimum Radius Tables


collection.

6 Replace the New Minimum Radius Table text with Local Standards eMax
7%. Press Enter.

Save the design criteria file

1 Click Save As.

2 In the Enter A File Name To Save dialog box, navigate to the My Civil
Tutorial Data folder (page 759). In the File Name field, enter
Sample_Local_Criteria.xml. Click Save.
If a design criteria file must be shared by multiple users, it must be saved
in a location to which all applicable users have access. If you send a
drawing that uses a custom design criteria file to a user that does not have
access to the shared location, then you also must send the design criteria
file.

TIP When the Use Design Criteria File option is selected during alignment
creation, the first design criteria found in the Data\Corridor Design
Standards\[units] folder (page 759) is applied to an alignment by default. To
ensure that a custom design criteria file is selected by default, make sure that
its name places it first in the directory.

Exercise 4: Modifying a Design Criteria File | 251


Add criteria to a table

1 In the Design Criteria File Editor dialog box, on the left-hand side, ensure
that the Local Standards eMax 7% table is selected.

2 On the right-hand side of the dialog box, select the first row in the table.
Click the Speed cell. Select 50 from the list.

3 Click the Radius cell. Enter 54. Press Enter.

4 Repeat steps 2 and 3 to add the following values to the table:


Speed Radius

70 125

90 235

110 387

130 586

TIP To add a row between two existing rows, click . To remove a row,

click .

5 In the Comments field, enter Minimum radii for 7% superelevation at


various design speeds.
Further exploration: Expand the other collections on the left-hand side
of the dialog box. Right-click the various folders and tables and examine
the options that are available.

6 Click Save And Close. When you are notified that the file has unsaved
changes, click Save Changes And Exit.
Further exploration: Use the Alignment Properties dialog box to apply
the new Sample_Local_Criteria.xml design criteria file and Local Standards
eMax 7% table to the alignment in Align-4b.dwg.

252 | Chapter 7 Alignments Tutorials


Profiles Tutorials
8
These tutorials will get you started viewing and designing the elevation profile of land surfaces
along a horizontal alignment.

NOTE All drawings used in these tutorials are available in the tutorial drawings folder (page
759). If you want to save your work from these tutorials, save the drawings to the My Civil
Tutorial Data folder (page 759) so that you do not overwrite the original drawings.

For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Understanding the Profile Object.

Tutorial: Designing Simple Profiles


In this tutorial, you will create simple existing ground and layout profiles for
an alignment.
An existing ground profile is extracted from a surface and shows the changes in
elevation along a horizontal alignment. A layout profile is a designed object that
shows the proposed grade and elevations to be constructed. Profiles are displayed
on an annotated grid called a profile view.

253
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Understanding the
Profile Object.

Display an existing ground profile in a profile view

1 Open drawing Profile-1_M.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings


folder (page 759).
This drawing contains an existing ground surface, an alignment that
represents a road centerline, and a polyline that represents the centerline
of an intersecting road. You will use the rectangle in the northeast corner
of the site as a guide to create a profile view.

2 Click Home tab ➤ Create Design panel ➤ Profile drop-down ➤ Create

Surface Profile .

3 In the Create Profile From Surface dialog box, click Add.

NOTE For this exercise, the First Street alignment and the EG surface are the
only available selections, and are selected by default.

4 Click Draw in Profile View.

5 In the Create Profile View wizard, click Create Profile View.

6 In the drawing, click the lower left corner of the rectangular placeholder.

254 | Chapter 8 Profiles Tutorials


The First Street Profile view is displayed, containing the dashed profile
that represents the existing ground (EG) surface. The left and right sides
annotate elevations. The bottom annotates the stations.

Create a layout profile

1 Click Home tab ➤ Layers panel ➤ Layer drop-down. Next to the

_PROF-ROAD-FGCL-PL layer, click .

Tutorial: Designing Simple Profiles | 255


You will use the circles in the profile view as a guide to draw a layout
profile.

2 Click Home tab ➤ Create Design panel ➤ Profile drop-down ➤ Profile


Creation Tools .

3 Select the profile view that you created.

4 In the Create Profile - Draw New dialog box, specify the following
parameters:
■ Name: Finished Grade Centerline - First Street

■ Profile Style: Design Profile

■ Profile Label Set: Complete Label Set


Click OK.
The Profile Layout Tools toolbar is displayed. This toolbar enables you
to lay out a finished grade profile, using either points of vertical intersection
(PVIs) or constraint-based tangent and curve entities. For this exercise,
you will create PVIs at specified points. Tangents will be created between
the PVIs, and curves will be created at each PVI.

5 On the Profile Layout Tools toolbar, in the Draw Tangents list , select
Draw Tangents With Curves.
The command line prompts you to specify a start point.
Before selecting a start point, verify that Object Snap (OSNAP) is on and
Endpoint and Center modes are selected.

6 On the status bar, right-click Object Snap . Click Settings.

7 In the Drafting Settings dialog box, on the Object Snap tab, click Clear
All, then select Endpoint and Center. Click OK.

8 Moving from left to right, click the circle center points to place PVIs.

9 Press Enter to complete the layout profile.


The blue Finished Grade Centerline profile and its labels are displayed
in the profile view.

10 Close the Profile Layout Tools toolbar.

256 | Chapter 8 Profiles Tutorials


11 Click Home tab ➤ Layers panel ➤ Layer drop-down. Next to the

PROF-ROAD-FGCL-PL layer, click . Click in the drawing to exit the


Layer Control list.

To continue to the next tutorial, go to Using Surface Profiles (page 257).

Tutorial: Using Surface Profiles


This tutorial demonstrates how to create surface profiles and display them in
a profile view.
A surface profile is extracted from a surface, and is often called an existing
ground profile. It is displayed on a graph called a profile view. Each profile view
is associated with a single horizontal alignment, but it can display multiple
surfaces and offset profiles from that alignment. An offset profile displays surface
elevations at a specified distance horizontally offset from the alignment. When
you create a profile along the centerline of a horizontal alignment, AutoCAD
Civil 3D can create one or more offset profiles automatically.
Surface profiles can be either static or dynamic. A static profile shows the
elevations at the time it was created, but does not react to later changes in the
alignment or surface. A dynamic profile automatically changes if the elevation
changes along the horizontal alignment, so it remains current.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Creating Profiles.

Tutorial: Using Surface Profiles | 257


Exercise 1: Creating and Displaying Surface Profiles with
Offsets
In this exercise, you will create a surface profile from an existing surface.
After creating the profile and several offsets, you will create a profile view to
display the profiles.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Creating Surface
Profiles.

Create centerline and offset surface profiles

1 Open Profile-2A.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759).
The drawing contains an existing ground surface and two horizontal
alignments. Examine the alignments. The red one with curves is named
Ridge Road, and represents a proposed road centerline. The other is named
Power Line, and represents a proposed power line offset about 25 feet
from the road.

2 Click Home tab ➤ Create Design panel ➤ Profile drop-down ➤ Create


Surface Profile.

3 In the Create Profile From Surface dialog box, under Alignment, select
Ridge Road.

4 Click Add.

5 Select the Sample Offsets check box. In the field next to the check box,
enter 25,-25 (including comma).
This field enables you to specify that profiles be created on either side of
the centerline. The left offset (–25) will mark the approximate location
of the power line. If you wanted more offsets, you could enter a series of
them here. Use positive numbers for right offsets and negative numbers
for left offsets, with values separated by commas.

6 Click Add.

7 In the Profile List, in the Description column, enter the following


descriptions:
■ EG - Surface: Centerline

■ EG - Surface - 25.000: Right Offset

■ EG - Surface - -25.000: Left Offset

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8 In the Profile List, in the Update Mode column, for the left offset, change
the value to Static.
This option specifies that the left offset reflects the surface elevations at
the time of its creation. It will not update to reflect future changes in the
surface.

9 Click OK.
A message that indicates profiles have been created is displayed in the
Event Viewer.

Display the surface profiles in a profile view

1 Click Home tab ➤ Profile & Section Views panel ➤ Profile View
drop-down ➤ Create Profile View.
The Create Profile View wizard is displayed, where you can configure the
display of the profile. The wizard contains the many controls for
displaying profiles in a profile view. You can use either the Back and Next
buttons at the bottom or the links along the left side to navigate through
the pages. You can click Create Profile View at any time to accept the
settings and create the profile view in the drawing.

2 In the Create Profile View wizard, on the General page, under Select
Alignment, select Ridge Road.

3 Click Profile Display Options.


The table on the Profile Display Options page shows the existing profiles
for Ridge Road. By default, they are all checked in the Draw column,
indicating that they will appear in the profile view.

4 In the Specify Profile Draw Options table, in the Style column,


double-click the cell for the Left Offset.

5 In the Pick Profile Style dialog box, change the style to Existing Ground.
Click OK.

6 In the Specify Profile Draw Options table, in the Labels column,


double-click the cell for the Left Offset.

7 In the Pick Profile Label Set dialog box, change the style to <None>. Click
OK.
You will not create labels for the existing ground profiles. You will specify
a label set when you create a layout profile in the Using Layout Profiles
tutorial (page 265).

Exercise 1: Creating and Displaying Surface Profiles with Offsets | 259


8 Repeat Steps 5 through 7 for the other two profiles.

9 Click Create Profile View.

10 In the drawing, pan and zoom to a blank area at the lower right of the
surface. Click at a suitable location for the lower left corner of the profile
view grid.
The profile view is drawn, with a grid, axes, title, and two data bands
along the X axis, one above the grid and another below it.
Because of its style, the left offset line is red.

NOTE If you want to move a profile view within a drawing, click anywhere
on the grid to select it. A blue grip appears near the lower left corner. Click
the grip and drag the profile view to a new location.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Changing the Profile Style


(page 260).

Exercise 2: Changing the Profile Style


In this exercise, you will change a profile style in two different ways.
First, you will change a profile style globally, which changes the profile’s
appearance in all profile views. Then, you will learn how to override a profile
style in a single profile view. Finally, you will hide the offset profiles.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Styles and Display
of Profile and Profile Views.
This exercise continues from Exercise 1: Creating and Displaying Surface
Profiles with Offsets (page 258).

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Create a profile view

1 Open Profile-2B.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759).

2 Click Home tab ➤ Profile & Section Views panel ➤ Profile View
Drop-down ➤ Create Profile View.

3 In the Create Profile View wizard, on the General page, under Select
Alignment, click Ridge Road.

4 Click Profile Display Options.

5 Under Specify Profile Draw Options, in the Style column, double-click


the cell for the Left Offset profile.

6 In the Pick Profile Style dialog box, select Standard. Click OK.

7 In the Name column, select the first row. Hold down the Shift key, and
then select the last row.

8 In the Labels column, double-click one of the cells.

9 In the Pick Profile Label Set dialog box, select <None>. Click OK.

10 In the Create Profile View wizard, click Create Profile View.

11 Pan to a location above the top of the first profile view, then click in the
drawing.
The new profile view, PV - (2), is drawn. The left offset profile is the same
color as the other two profiles.

12 Pan to the lower profile view, PV - (1).


Notice that its left offset line has also changed. The left offset profile
changed because you changed the style of the profile, which affects every
instance of the profile in every profile view in the drawing.

Exercise 2: Changing the Profile Style | 261


Change a profile style

1 Select the PV - (1) profile view grid. Right-click. Click Profile View
Properties.

2 Click the Profiles tab.


On this tab, you can change properties of a profile line after it has been
drawn in a profile view.

3 On the Profiles tab, scroll until you can see the Style and Override Style
columns.

4 In the Override Style column for the Left Offset, double-click the check
box.

5 In the Pick Profile Style dialog box, select Existing Ground. Click OK.

6 In the Profile View Properties dialog box, click Apply.


The Left Offset profile changes to red (reflecting the Existing Ground
style) in profile view PV - (1), but not in PV - (2). The left offset profiles
are different because you overrode the profile style for the particular

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profile view, but did not change the profile style. You can use a style
override to preserve the profile style within a profile view, protecting it
from later style changes.

Further exploration: In the Profile View Properties dialog box, clear the
Override Style check box for the left offset. Click the Style column for
this offset, change it to Standard, then click Apply. This changes the style
for the profile and affects both profile views in the drawing.

NOTE The left offset line is an approximate and static profile of the terrain
along the power line. Optionally, if you wanted to see the actual profile, you
could create a profile and profile view based on the Power Line alignment.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 3: Reviewing Surface Profile


Characteristics (page 263).

Exercise 3: Reviewing Surface Profile Characteristics


In this exercise, you will examine some of the information displayed in the
profile and the profile view.

Exercise 3: Reviewing Surface Profile Characteristics | 263


For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Editing Profile
Curve and Tangent Parameter Values.
This exercise continues from Exercise 2: Changing the Profile Style (page 260).

Examine the profile view characteristics

1 Open Profile-2C.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759).

2 Zoom in to the lower profile view PV - (1) so that you can clearly see the
three profile lines.

3 Select the highest profile line (the right offset profile), being careful not
to select the profile view grid. Right-click. Click Edit Profile Geometry.
The Profile Layout Tools toolbar is displayed. Notice that no editing grips
are displayed along the profile, and most controls in the Profile Layout
Tools toolbar are shaded and unavailable. This profile is dynamic. It is
linked to the surface elevations, and no part of the line can be edited.

4 In the Profile Layout Tools toolbar, click .


The Profile Entities vista is displayed in the Panorama window. This table
displays useful grade data for the entire profile. Again, values are shaded
and unavailable so you cannot edit them. Editing these values would
break the integrity of the link between the profile and the surface.

5 Press Esc to deselect the right offset profile.

6 Click the red (left offset) profile line.


Notice that editing grips appear along this profile. If you zoom out, you
can see that the same profile is also selected in the other profile view. If
you grip edit the profile in one profile view, the same changes apply to
the other copy of the profile.

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Because this line is a static profile, and detached from the surface, you
can edit it in various ways, including copying and moving it. You would
not edit this line if you wanted to preserve it as a snapshot of the surface
at a particular time.
Notice that the Profile Entities table now displays the design data for the
left offset profile, with values you can edit. When you selected the left
offset profile, it became the active profile for the editing tools.

7 Close the Profile Layout Tools toolbar.


The Profile Layout Tools toolbar and Profile Entities vista both close, and
the left offset profile line is deselected in the drawing.

To continue to the next tutorial, go to Using Layout Profiles (page 265).

Tutorial: Using Layout Profiles


This tutorial demonstrates how to create and edit layout profiles, which are
often called design profiles or finished grade profiles.
A layout profile represents a proposal for a road or other designed surface.
This type of profile is always drawn on the grid of a profile view, which usually
displays the surface profile along the same horizontal alignment.
A layout profile includes the following elements:

■ Straight line tangents with specified grade or slope.

■ Points of vertical intersection (PVI) where tangents meet.

■ Vertical curves that are usually parabolic in shape. Vertical curves can also
be circular or asymmetrical parabolic.

Tutorial: Using Layout Profiles | 265


Vertical curves can be one of two basic types: crest curves or sag curves.

■ A crest curve exists at a hilltop, or wherever the incoming tangent has a


higher grade than the outgoing tangent. There are three types of crest
curves: a positive to negative grade transition, positive to positive, and
negative to negative. The point of vertical intersection (PVI) of a crest curve
is above the curve.

■ A sag curve exists at the bottom of a valley, or wherever the incoming


tangent has a lower grade than the outgoing tangent. There are three types
of sag curves: a negative to positive grade transition, negative to negative,
and positive to positive. The PVI of a sag curve is below the curve.

The vertical curves on a layout profile can be designed in relation to


engineering speed tables for safe vehicular travel at a particular maximum
speed. Other tables can be used to design vertical curves so that the distance
illuminated by the headlights of a vehicle at night is always greater than the
stopping distance at the maximum design speed.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topics Creating Layout
Profiles and Vertical Curve Design.

Exercise 1: Creating a Layout Profile


In this exercise, you will create the layout profile. Typically, this profile is used
to show the elevations along a proposed road surface or a finished grade.
The layout profile is similar to a horizontal alignment, in that it is constructed
of straight tangents with optional curves placed where the tangents intersect.
These tangents and curves on a layout profile are located in the vertical plane
and the intersection points are called points of vertical intersection (PVI).
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Creating Layout
Profiles.
This exercise continues from the Using Surface Profiles (page 257) tutorial.

Hide the offset profiles

1 Open Profile-2C.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759).

2 Click the bottom grid to select profile view PV-1. Right-click. Click Profile
View Properties.

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3 In the Profile View Properties dialog box, on the Profiles tab, clear the
Draw check boxes for the right offset and left offset profiles.
The Profiles tab displays all existing profiles for a given horizontal
alignment, both surface profiles and layout profiles. You can use the Draw
check boxes to specify which profiles to display in the profile view.
Further exploration: You can permanently delete a profile by selecting
it in the drawing (or in Toolspace) and pressing the Delete key. If you
delete a profile, it is removed from all profile views, the list of profiles in
the Profile View Properties dialog box, and Toolspace. To restore a deleted
surface profile, create a new one. The new profile is displayed in any
applicable profile views, and can be edited in the Profile View Properties
dialog box.
To continue with this exercise, ensure that the centerline profile is visible
in profile view PV- (1).

4 Click OK.

Specify the profile creation settings

1 NOTE Turn off Object Snap (OSNAP). For more information, see Object
Snapping.

2 Click Home tab ➤ Create Design panel ➤ Profile drop-down ➤ Profile


Creation Tools.

3 Click the bottom grid to select profile view PV-1.

4 In the Create Profile – Draw New dialog box, change the Profile Style to
Finished Ground.

5 In the Profile Label Set list, select Standard. Click .

Exercise 1: Creating a Layout Profile | 267


6 In the Profile Label Set dialog box, on the Labels tab, specify the following
parameters:
■ Type: Horizontal Geometry Points

■ Profile Horizontal Geometry Point: Station & Type

7 Click Add.

8 In the Geometry Points dialog box, examine the geometry points that
can be labeled. You can specify any combination of points that you want
to label. Click OK.

NOTE For more details about geometry point labels, see the Adding Labels
in Groups tutorial exercise (page 689).

9 In the Profile Label Set dialog box, click OK.

10 Click the Design Criteria tab.


The options on this tab are used only if you want to ensure that the
profile design meets specified design criteria. You will not apply design
criteria to the profile in this exercise. You will learn how to use the design
criteria feature in the Designing a Profile that Refers to Local Standards
tutorial (page 275).

11 Click OK to accept the settings.

Draw the layout profile

1 In the Profile Layout Tools toolbar, click the arrow on the right side of

and click Curve Settings.

2 On the Vertical Curve Settings dialog box, specify the following


parameters:
■ Curve Type: Parabolic

■ Crest Curve Length: 100

■ Sag Curve Length: 100

Notice that you can select one of three curve types and specify parameters
for each type.

3 Click OK.

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4 In the Profile Layout Tools toolbar, ensure that Draw Tangents With

Curves is selected.
You are now ready to draw the layout profile by clicking in the drawing
at the proposed locations of PVIs. At each PVI, the application inserts a
curve. To be realistic, your line should follow the general profile of the
surface centerline. However, it can cut across steep hills and valleys to
outline a smoother road surface.

5 In the profile view, click the left side, near the centerline surface profile,
to start the layout profile.

6 Extend the line to the right and click at another location near the
centerline surface profile. Continue in this manner.

7 At the last point, right-click to end the profile. The layout profile is now
drawn and labeled.

Exercise 1: Creating a Layout Profile | 269


8 Zoom and pan along the layout profile to examine the labels.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Editing a Layout Profile (page 270).

Exercise 2: Editing a Layout Profile


In this exercise, you will modify the layout profile by using grips and entering
specific attribute values.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Editing Layout
Profiles.
This exercise continues from Exercise 1: Creating a Layout Profile (page 266).

Edit the profile parameters

1 Open Profile-3A.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759).

2 In the bottom profile view, select the blue layout profile. Right-click.
Click Edit Profile Geometry.
The Profile Layout Tools toolbar is displayed.

3 On the Profile Layout Tools toolbar, click .


This option specifies that you will edit the data for each profile PVI. If

you had clicked , you would edit the data for each profile line and
curve sub-entity.

4 On the Profile Layout Tools toolbar, click Profile Grid View .


The Profile Entities vista is displayed in the Panorama window. The first
row in the table provides data about the starting point of the layout

270 | Chapter 8 Profiles Tutorials


profile. Subsequent rows provide data about the PVIs. The last row
provides data about the end point.

5 Examine the Grade In and Grade Out columns with the aim of reducing
one or more of the steeper grades in the profile.
Notice that the Grade Out value for one PVI is the same as the Grade In
value for the next PVI. The values are the same because they refer to the
same tangent.

6 In row No. 3, in the Grade Out column, double-click the 8.000% value
and then enter 5.000. Press Enter.
The value changes in the Grade In column of row No. 4. The line in the
drawing adjusts to the new value.
Further exploration: Experiment with changing K values and Profile Curve
Lengths. In each case, the Profile Curve Radius also changes.
This exercise demonstrates that if your design process provides you with
guidelines for K values or vertical curve length, you can easily edit profile
specifications in the Profile Entities table.

7 On the Profile Layout Tools toolbar, click Profile Layout Parameters


.

8 In the Profile Entities vista, select row 2.


The Profile Layout Parameters dialog box displays the parameters for the
first PVI on the profile.

Grip edit the profile

1 With a profile curve clearly visible, click the circular grip at the curve
midpoint. The grip turns red, which indicates that it can be moved.

2 Move the cursor to a new location closer to or farther from the PVI, then
click.
The curve moves to pass through the point you clicked. The length of
the curve changes.

Exercise 2: Editing a Layout Profile | 271


Notice that the affected attributes update in the Profile Entities vista and
Profile Layout Parameters window.
Further exploration: Click another grip and move it to a new location.
Note how other grips react.

3 Click the triangular grip at the curve midpoint.

4 Move the cursor to a new location closer to or farther from the PVI, then
click.
In the Profile Entities vista, notice which entity’s PVI Elevation updates.

5 Select the row of the entity that you changed.


The entity’s attribute values are displayed in the Profile Layout Parameters
window.

6 Close the Profile Layout Tools toolbar.


The Panorama window (Profile Entities vista) and Profile Layout
Parameters dialog box close.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 3: Copying a Profile and Offsetting it


Vertically (page 272).

Exercise 3: Copying a Profile and Offsetting it Vertically


In this exercise, you will copy part of a centerline layout profile. You will use
the copy to create a starting line for a ditch profile that is a specified distance
below the centerline.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Copying a Profile.
This exercise continues from Exercise 2: Editing a Layout Profile (page 270).

Copy the layout profile

1 Open Profile-3B.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759).

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2 In profile view PV-1, select the red layout profile. Right-click. Click Edit
Profile Geometry.

3 In the Profile Layout Tools toolbar, click .Copy Profile

4 In the Copy Profile Data dialog box, specify the following parameters:
To use more advanced features of the product, you will make the profile
copy shorter than the original.

NOTE The station values recommended in this step have been chosen because
in the drawing Profile-3B.dwg, they include the two center tangents of the
Layout (1) profile. If you are using another drawing with a much different
profile, you may have to enter different station values. To be included in the
profile copy, a complete tangent must be within the copied range. If part of
a tangent extends beyond the range, the whole tangent is excluded from
the selection set.

■ PVI Range: Station Range

■ Start: 300

■ End: 1700

■ Destination Profile Options: Create New Profile

5 Click OK.
The new profile is drawn on top of the old one.

6 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, expand the Alignments ➤ Centerline


Alignments ➤ Ridge Road ➤ Profiles collection under the alignment.

Your profile copy is displayed with the layout profile icon and the
name Layout (2).

Offset the profile

1 In the drawing, click the profile view. Right-click. Click Profile View
Properties.

2 On the Profiles tab, clear the Draw check box for the original layout
profile, Layout (1).
Clearing the check box removes the original profile from the profile view.
Later, you can restore this profile to the profile view if you wish.

Exercise 3: Copying a Profile and Offsetting it Vertically | 273


TIP Instead of removing Layout (1) from the profile view, you can try selecting
Layout (2) to move it. However, the process described here is more reliable
with overlapping profiles.

3 Click OK.
The Profile View Properties dialog box closes and the profile view is
redrawn, showing the copy of part of the layout profile.

4 Click the layout profile.


The name of the selected profile is displayed in the Profile Layout Tools
toolbar. In the next few steps, you will lower the profile copy by 5 feet
to represent the elevation of the ditch.

5 On the Profile Layout Tools toolbar, click Raise/Lower PVIs.

6 In the Raise/Lower PVI Elevation dialog box, specify the following


parameters:
■ Elevation Change: -5

■ PVI Range: All

7 Click OK.
In both profile views, the line moves to its new position.
This profile copy is a full-featured object that can be edited in the same
way as the original layout profile.

8 Press Esc to deselect the profile.

9 In the drawing, click the profile view. Right-click. Click Profile View
Properties.

10 On the Profiles tab, set the Draw check boxes to the following states:
■ Layout (1): Selected

■ Layout (2): Cleared

11 Click OK.
Clearing the check box removes the copy of the profile from the profile
view. Notice that the copy is still displayed in the profile view PV-(2).

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To continue to the next tutorial, go to Designing a Profile that Refers to Local
Standards (page 275).

Tutorial: Designing a Profile that Refers to Local


Standards
This tutorial demonstrates how to validate that your profile design meets
criteria specified by a local agency.
To create a profile using design criteria, you use the same basic workflow that
you use to create a profile without design criteria. During profile creation, you
can select a design criteria file, from which you can specify the minimum K
tables to which the profile must comply. If the parent alignment also uses
design criteria, the design criteria file that is specified for the alignment is
applied to the profile by default. You can specify a different design criteria
file for the profile, if desired.
The design criteria file specifies minimum K values at given speeds for stopping,
passing, and headlight sight distances. You can create custom design checks

Tutorial: Designing a Profile that Refers to Local Standards | 275


to validate profile design criteria other than minimum K values. To apply a
design check to a profile, you must add it to a design check set.

NOTE For detailed exercises on creating design checks and modifying the design
criteria file, see the Designing an Alignment that Refers to Local Standards tutorial
(page 239).

For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Criteria-Based
Profile Design.

Exercise 1: Specifying Profile Design Criteria


In this exercise, you will specify minimum standards for a layout profile.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Creating Layout
Profiles.

Specify minimum profile design standards

1 Open Profile-4A.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759).

2 Click Home tab ➤ Create Design panel ➤ Profile drop-down ➤ Profile


Creation Tools.

3 Click one of the grid lines to select the profile view.

4 In the Create Profile – Draw New dialog box, on the General tab, specify
the following parameters:
■ Name: Main Road

■ Profile Style: Design Profile

■ Profile Label Set: <none>

5 On the Design Criteria tab, select the Use Criteria-Based Design check
box.
The Use Design Criteria File, Default Criteria, and Use Design Check Set
options are now available. The design criteria file that was selected by
default is the same file that was applied to the parent alignment. You
may choose to use a different design criteria file for the profile. For this
exercise, you will accept the default.

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6 Under Use Design Check Set, click the arrow next to . Click Create
New.
In the next few steps, you will create a new design check set to validate
that the sag and crest curves meet a minimum length value.

7 In the Profile Design Check Set dialog box, on the Information tab, for
Name, enter Profile Curve Length.

8 On the Design Checks tab, in the Type list, select Curve. In the Curve
Checks list, select L>=30. Click Add.

9 In the Design Check table, in the Apply To column, select Crest Curves
Only.

10 Repeat Steps 8 and 9 to add the L>=60 curve design check to the design
check set. In the Apply To column, select Sag Curves Only.

11 Click OK.

12 In the Create Profile - Draw New dialog box, click OK.


The Profile Layout Tools toolbar is displayed in the drawing window.
You can start drawing the layout profile that refers to the criteria you
specified.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Drawing a Profile that Refers to


Design Criteria (page 277).

Exercise 2: Drawing a Profile that Refers to Design


Criteria
In this exercise, you will draw a profile that refers to specified minimum
standards.
You will use the standard profile layout tools to create a profile using the
criteria-based design feature.
This exercise continues from Exercise 1: Specifying Profile Design Criteria
(page 276).
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Creating Layout
Profiles.

Exercise 2: Drawing a Profile that Refers to Design Criteria | 277


Draw profile tangents

NOTE This exercise uses Profile-4A.dwg with the modifications you made in the
previous exercise.

1 On the Profile Layout Tools toolbar, ensure that Draw Tangents is


selected.

2 In the profile view, snap to the center of each of the blue circles that are
labeled A through E.

3 After you click in Circle E, right-click to end the profile.


The layout profile consists of tangents connected at points of vertical
intersection (PVIs). Next, you will add curves at each PVI.

NOTE For information about using object snaps, see the Using Basic
Functionality tutorial (page 15).

Add a free curve that exceeds the design standards

1 On the Profile Layout Tools toolbar, click the arrow next to . Select

Free Vertical Curve (Parameter).

2 On the profile view, click the tangent that enters Circle B on the left (the
“first entity”).

3 Click the tangent that exits Circle B on the right (the “next entity”).
On the command line, notice that you can select the parameter that you
want to use to define the curve. The displayed value for the selected
parameter is the minimum value that will meet the minimum K value
that is required by the design criteria file. For this exercise, you will enter
values that do not meet the design criteria, and then examine the results.

4 On the command line, enter R to specify a curve radius. Enter a radius


of 500.

The curve is drawn between the tangents, and a warning symbol


is displayed. You will learn how to diagnose and correct the violations
in Exercise 3: Viewing and Correcting Profile Design Criteria Violations
(page 279).

5 Repeat steps 2 to 4 to add an identical curve to the PVI in Circle C.

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Add a free curve that meets the design standards

1 On the profile view, click the tangent that enters Circle D on the left (the
“first entity”).

2 Click the tangent that exits Circle D on the right (the “next entity”).

3 Press Enter to accept the minimum radius value that is displayed on the
command line.
The curve is drawn at Circle D, but this time no warning symbol is
displayed. You can use the command line to quickly apply minimum
values to profile entities as you draw them.

4 Right-click to end the command.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 3: Viewing and Correcting Profile


Design Criteria Violations (page 279).

Exercise 3: Viewing and Correcting Profile Design


Criteria Violations
In this exercise, you will check the profile design for criteria violations, and
then learn how to correct violations.
When a profile sub-entity violates a criteria or design check, a warning symbol
is displayed on the sub-entity in the drawing window, Profile Entities vista,
and Profile Layout Parameters dialog box. When the cursor is hovered over a
warning symbol, a tooltip displays information about the violation. If a design
criteria has been violated, the tooltip displays the criteria that has been
violated, as well as the minimum value that is required to meet the criteria.
If a design check has been violated, the tooltip displays the name of the design
check that has been violated.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Viewing and
Correcting Profile Design Criteria Violations.
This exercise continues from Exercise 2: Drawing a Profile that Refers to Design
Criteria (page 277).

Exercise 3: Viewing and Correcting Profile Design Criteria Violations | 279


Check the profile design for criteria violations

NOTE This exercise uses Profile-3.dwg with the modifications you made in the
previous exercise.

1 Pan and zoom so that you can see Circles B and C on the profile view.

NOTE The warning symbols do not automatically scale when you zoom in.
Enter REGEN on the command line to resize the warning symbols.

2 Hover the cursor over the symbol in Circle C.


The tooltips are a convenient way to review design criteria violations in
the drawing window. Two violations are displayed in the tooltip:
■ First, the curve does not meet the recommended minimum K value
for headlight sight distance. The curve K value and minimum
acceptable K value are both displayed.

■ Second, the curve does not meet the formula specified in one of the
design checks. Notice that the name of the design check is displayed,
but not the current or recommended values. Values are not displayed
because design checks are custom formulas that are created by the
user.

NOTE If a sub-entity violates multiple criteria or design checks, only a single


symbol is displayed on the sub-entity. To clear a symbol from a sub-entity,
all the violations must be cleared.

3 If the Profile Layout Tools toolbar is not open, select the red layout profile.
Right-click. Click Edit Profile Geometry.

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4 On the Profile Layout Tools toolbar, click Entity Based.

5 Click . Profile Grid View

In the Profile Entities vista, in rows 2 and 4, notice that a warning


symbol appears in the No. column, as well as several other columns.
Warning symbols appear next to each value that violates the design
criteria that are specified in the design criteria file.

6 In row 2, hover the cursor over the warning symbol in the No.
column.
Notice that the tooltip displays the design criteria and design checks that
have been violated. Notice that while the two curves violate the minimum
length specified by the design checks, a warning symbol does not appear
in either Length cell. Design checks are custom, mathematical formulas
that return either a true or false value. They do not provide feedback
other than whether the applicable entities meet or violate the conditions
in the design check.

7 On the Profile Layout Tools toolbar, click Profile Layout Parameters.


The Profile Layout Parameters window is displayed, containing no data.

8 In the Profile Entities vista, click row No. 4, which is the curve entity in
Circle C.
The design data for the curve entity is displayed in a three-column table
in the Profile Layout Parameters window, where data is easy to review
and edit.
Notice that in the Profile Layout Parameters window, in the Design

Criteria panel, a symbol is displayed next to the design criteria


property that has been violated. In the Layout Parameters panel, the
Value column displays the actual parameters of each sub-entity. The
Constraints column displays the design criteria values that the sub-entities

must meet. A symbol is displayed next to the K Value row because


the value violates the design criteria. As is true in the drawing window
and Profile Entities Vista, the design check that has been violated is
displayed, but individual parameters that violate the check are not marked.

Exercise 3: Viewing and Correcting Profile Design Criteria Violations | 281


Correct the design criteria violations

1 In the Profile Layout Parameters window, on the Layout Parameters panel,


change the Length Value to 60.000m. Press Enter.
Notice that the warning symbol is cleared from the Design Checks panel,
as well as from row 4 in the Profile Entities vista. The new curve length
value meets the value specified by the design check. Increasing the curve
length also affected the K value, which increased to meet the minimum
value for Headlight Sight Distance.

2 In the Profile Entities vista, click row No. 2, which is the curve entity in
Circle B.

3 In the Profile Layout Parameters window, on the Layout Parameters panel,


change the Length Value to 30.000m. Press Enter.

The warning symbol is cleared from the Design Checks panel, but
not from the K Value row or the Profile Entities vista.
The curve still does not meet the minimum K value for passing sight
distance, so the warning symbols are displayed. To clear a warning symbol,
the entity must meet all values specified in both the design criteria file
and the applicable design checks.

TIP There are two recommended methods for working around a Minimum
K For Passing Sight Distance violation:
■ Add a new design speed at the station at which the curve begins. You
can do this in the Alignment Properties dialog box, on the Design
Criteria tab.

■ Designate the station range along curve as a No Passing Zone. This


solution does not clear the warning symbol from the drawing, so you
should annotate the symbol and No Passing Zone in the final plot.

To continue to the next tutorial, go to Displaying and Modifying Profile Views


(page 282).

Tutorial: Displaying and Modifying Profile Views


This tutorial demonstrates how to change the appearance of profile views.
You may change profile view style, add labels and data bands, split a profile
view, and create multiple profile views to suit your production requirements.

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The profile view style controls the format for titles, axis annotation, and other
elements of a profile view.
Multiple profile views are useful for plotting short segments of a profile in
separate profile view grids of a consistent length and vertical scale.
A profile can be split within either a single or multiple profile view. Splitting
a profile allows a profile view to display a profile elevation range that is greater
than the profile view’s specified height.
Multiple profile views are most useful when you are creating final construction
documents from your design. For best results, design your profile in a single
profile view, then use the plan production tools to create multiple profile
views.
When you must annotate centerline and offset profiles extensively, you can
create stacked profile views, in which each profile line is displayed in a separate
profile view grid.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Working with
Profile Views.

Exercise 1: Editing the Profile View Style


In this exercise, you will learn how to change the data displayed in a profile
view.
You use the Profile View Style dialog box to define profile view styles that
control the format for titles, axis annotation, and other elements of a profile
view.
The Profile View Properties dialog box is the central location in which you
can modify all components of the profile view, including profiles, labels, styles,
and data bands.
You can also do some common editing tasks, such as deleting profiles or
modifying profile labels, within the drawing window by right-clicking the
appropriate object.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Editing Profile
Views.

Change the profile view style

1 Open Profile-5A.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759).

Exercise 1: Editing the Profile View Style | 283


2 Click the grid to select profile view profile view PV- (1). Right-click. Click
Profile View Properties.

3 Click the Information tab.

4 In the Object Style field, change the profile view style to Major Grids.
Click Apply.
Notice that this style change affects the X-axis annotation as well as the
grid.

5 Click Edit Current Selection.

6 In the Profile View Style dialog box, examine the contents of the various
tabs to see the many settings that can be included in a style definition.
For example, on the Title Annotation tab, you can change the format
and location of the profile view title. On the Display tab, you can turn
various parts of the profile view on and off.

7 Click Cancel, and then click OK to close the Profile View Properties dialog
box.

8 Zoom out so you can see both profile views.


When you applied the Major Grids style, which includes grid padding
above and below the profile, PV- (1) enlarged to overlap PV- (2).

9 Click PV- (2) and move it up above the title block for PV- (1).

Now you will edit the Major Grids profile view style to add consistent
grid padding, clip the profile view grid, and modify the appearance of
the ticks along the axis.

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Modify the grid in the profile view style

1 Click the PV - (1) grid to select the profile view. Right-click. Click Edit
Profile View Style.

2 In the Profile View Style dialog box, on the Grid tab, under Grid Padding,
change the padding of all four axes to 1.0000.

3 Click Apply.
Notice that in the drawing, there is now one full major grid between the
profiles and the profile view extents.

4 Under Grid Options, select Clip Vertical Grid and Clip Horizontal Grid.
Under both selections, select Omit Grid In Padding Areas.
Notice that the graphics in the dialog box change to demonstrate the
effect the setting has on the profile view.

5 Click Apply.
Notice that in the drawing, the profile view grid has been removed from
above the surface profile and the padding area you specified.

Exercise 1: Editing the Profile View Style | 285


The grid is clipped to the surface profile because the Clip Grid setting in
the profile view properties for PV - (1) is set to the centerline surface
profile. Setting the profile view style to Clip To Highest Profile(s) would
override the property setting and clip the grid to the layout profile.

6 Click OK.

NOTE If the style changes have not been applied to the profile view, enter
REGEN at the command line.

Modify the axis annotation in the profile view style

1 Pan and zoom to see the upper left corner of the profile view grid. Zoom
in so you can clearly see the tick marks on the horizontal and vertical
axes.
Notice that the starting station labels overlap. In the next few steps, you
will correct the overlap and modify the justification of the ticks at the
major stations.

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2 Click the grid to select the profile view. Right-click. Click Edit Profile
View Style.

3 In the Profile View Style dialog box, on the Horizontal Axes tab, click
Top.
This control sets the focus of the controls on this tab to the top axis. If,
after you have changed the top axis, you would like the changes to carry
over to the bottom axis, select Bottom and repeat the changes.

NOTE The bottom axis controls the major and minor grid spacing.

4 Under Major Tick Details, specify the following parameters:


■ Tick Size: 0.2500

■ Y Offset: 0.1000

5 Click Apply.
The major ticks are longer, and the station labels move up.

Exercise 1: Editing the Profile View Style | 287


6 On the Vertical Axes tab, make sure Left is selected as the axis to control.

NOTE The left axis controls the major and minor grid spacing.

7 Under Major Tick Details, specify the following parameters:


■ Tick Size: 0.2500

■ X Offset: -0.1000

8 Click OK.
The ticks are longer, and the elevation labels move to the left.

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Further exploration: Experiment with the other settings in the Major Tick
Details area. Make the same changes you made in the previous steps to
the right axis.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Adding Hatch Patterns Between


Profiles (page 289).

Exercise 2: Adding Hatch Patterns Between Profiles


In this exercise, you will illustrate the cut and fill regions along an alignment
by applying hatch patterns between the surface and layout profiles.
Hatch patterns can be applied to areas that are formed by two profile lines.
Hatch patterns are applied in the Profile View Properties dialog box. You can
either specify the area type, or use an existing quantity takeoff criteria. You
use shape styles to apply the desired hatch patterns and colors to the areas
you have defined.

Exercise 2: Adding Hatch Patterns Between Profiles | 289


For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Adding Hatch
Areas to a Profile View.
This exercise continues from Exercise 1: Editing the Profile View Style (page
283).

Access the profile view properties

1 Open Profile-5B.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759).
This drawing is similar to the drawings you used in previous profiles
tutorial exercises. This drawing contains an additional profile view, Profile
View PV - (3), which contains an existing ground and layout profile. You
will add hatch patterns that highlight the cut and fill areas between the
two profiles.

2 Click the Profile View PV - (3) grid to select the profile view. Right-click.
Click Profile View Properties.

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Define a cut area hatch

1 In the Profile View Properties dialog box, on the Hatch tab, click

Cut Area.
A Cut - (1) area is displayed in the Hatch Area table. For Upper Boundary,
the first surface profile in the list is automatically assigned. For Lower
Boundary, the first layout profile in the list is assigned automatically.

2 In the Shape Style column, click Standard.

3 In the Pick Shape Style dialog box, select Cut. Click OK.

4 In the Profile View Properties dialog box, click Apply.


The specified shape style is displayed in the cut areas between the profiles.

Define a fill area hatch

1 In the Profile View Properties dialog box, on the Hatch tab, click

Fill Area.
A Fill - (1) area is displayed in the Hatch Area table. For Upper Boundary,
the first layout profile in the list is automatically assigned. For Lower
Boundary, the first surface profile in the list is assigned automatically.

2 In the Fill - (1) entry, for Shape Style, click the Standard entry.

3 In the Pick Shape Style dialog box, expand the list of shape styles.

Exercise 2: Adding Hatch Patterns Between Profiles | 291


An appropriate Fill style does not exist in this drawing. You will create
one in the following steps.

Create a fill shape style

1 In the Pick Shape Style dialog box, select Cut.

2 In the Pick Shape Style dialog box, click the down arrow next to .

Click Copy Current Selection.

3 In the Shape Style dialog box, on the Information tab, for Name, enter
Fill.

4 On the Display tab, select both entries in the Component Display table.

5 Click one of the Color cells.

6 In the Select Color dialog box, for Color, enter 92. Click OK.

7 In the Component Hatch Display table, for Pattern, click the Dash entry.

8 In the Hatch Pattern dialog box, for Pattern Name, select Cross.

9 Click OK four times.


The Profile View Properties dialog box closes, and the new hatch pattern
is displayed in the fill areas between the profiles.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 3: Projecting Objects onto a Profile


View (page 293).

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Exercise 3: Projecting Objects onto a Profile View
In this exercise, you will project multi-view blocks, COGO points, and 3D
polylines from plan view onto a profile view.
You can project a variety of objects, such as AutoCAD points, solids, blocks,
multi-view blocks, 3D polylines, COGO points, feature lines, and survey figures
onto a profile view. The process you will use in this exercise can be applied
to any of these objects.

NOTE Before you project an object into a profile view, make sure that the object
has a defined elevation. Otherwise, the elevation may be zero, and the profile view
will be expanded vertically to accommodate the zero elevation value.

For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Working with
Projected Objects.

Project multi-view blocks onto a profile view

1 Open Profile-5C.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759).
Two viewports are displayed in this drawing. A plan view of COGO points
that represent an existing road, and a proposed corridor is displayed in
the left viewport. A profile view that contains existing ground and

Exercise 3: Projecting Objects onto a Profile View | 293


proposed ground profiles of the proposed road is displayed in the right
viewport.

2 In the left viewport, at station 0+025, select the multi-view block that
represents a light post. Right-click. Click Select Similar.

All the light posts along the proposed road corridor are selected.
When you insert a multi-view block into a drawing, it is created as a
standard AutoCAD block. Before it can be projected onto a profile view,
a multi-view block must be exploded from its original AutoCAD block
form.

3 Click Home tab ➤ Profile & Section Views panel ➤ Profile View
drop-down ➤ Project Objects To Profile View.

4 In the right viewport, click the profile view grid.

5 In the Project Objects to Profile View dialog box, click <Set All> in
each column to specify the following parameters:
■ Style: Projection Without Exaggeration

■ Elevation Options: Surface ➤ First Street

■ Label Style: Object Name Station And Elevation

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6 Click OK.
The light poles are displayed on the profile view.

Project COGO points and 3D polylines onto a profile view

1 In the left viewport, select the three COGO points that are along the
proposed road centerline.

Exercise 3: Projecting Objects onto a Profile View | 295


2 Click Home tab ➤ Profile & Section Views panel ➤ Profile View
drop-down ➤ Project Objects To Profile View.

3 In the right viewport, click the profile view grid.

4 In the Project Objects To Profile View dialog box, click Pick Objects.

5 In the left viewport, zoom out and select each of the blue 3D polylines
that represent the front of building footprints.

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6 Press Enter.

7 In the Project Objects To Profile View dialog box, in the 3D Polylines

row, under Style, click <Set All>.

8 In the Select Projection Style dialog box, select Projection Without


Exaggeration.

Leave the Elevation Options setting at Use Object. In this case, the
appropriate elevation value is a property of the selected objects.

9 Click OK twice.
The COGO points and building 3D polylines are displayed in the profile
view.

Exercise 3: Projecting Objects onto a Profile View | 297


Edit the projected object elevation

1 In the left viewport, select the 3D polyline in parcel 101.

2 On the command line, enter LIST.


In the AutoCAD Text Window, notice that the elevation values for the
polyline vertices are approximately 38.

3 Press Enter. Close the AutoCAD Text Window.

4 In the right viewport, select the 3D polyline that crosses between stations
0+060 and 0+080.

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When you select the 3D polyline in the profile view, notice that the 3D
polyline in plan view is highlighted.

5 Drag the left grip down toward the bottom of the profile view.

6 Repeat Steps 1 and 2 to examine the new elevation value.


When you grip edit a projected feature line or 3D polyline, the
corresponding elevation of the source object is adjusted.

7 Press Enter. Close the AutoCAD Text Window.

Modify the display of projected objects in profile view

1 In the right viewport, select the profile view grid. Right-click. Click Profile
View Properties.
The Projections tab is displayed on the Profile View Properties dialog box.
You use the controls on this tab to change the parameters that you used
when you projected objects onto the profile view.

NOTE Like other AutoCAD Civil 3D labels, label parameters are changed by
selecting the desired label, and then using the Labels contextual tab on the
ribbon.

Exercise 3: Projecting Objects onto a Profile View | 299


2 In the Profile View Properties dialog box, on the Projections tab, clear

the 3D Polylines check box.

3 Click Apply.
The 3D polylines are removed from the profile view, and are cleared from
the Profile View Properties dialog box.

4 Click OK.

Further exploration: Examine the style settings that are available for projected
objects. Projected object styles are located in Toolspace, on the Settings tab,
in the General ➤ Multipurpose Styles ➤ Projection Styles collection. Label
styles for projected objects are located in Toolspace, on the Settings tab, in
the Profile View ➤ Label Styles ➤ Projection collection.
To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 4: Splitting a Profile View (page 300).

Exercise 4: Splitting a Profile View


In this exercise, you will split a profile view so that the full elevation range of
a layout profile fits in a shorter profile view.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Working with
Profile Views.
This exercise continues from Exercise 3: Projecting Objects onto a Profile View
(page 293).

Split a profile view

1 Open Profile-5D.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759)

2 Click Home tab ➤ Profile & Section Views panel ➤ Profile View
drop-down ➤ Create Profile View.

3 In the Create Profile View wizard, on the General page, specify the
following parameters:
■ Select Alignment: Ridge Road

■ Profile View Style: Standard

4 On the left side of the wizard, click Profile View Height.

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5 On the Profile View Height page, specify the following parameters:
■ Profile View Height: User Specified

■ Maximum: 670.00’

■ Split Profile View: Selected


The split profile view controls are now available. These controls allow
you to select separate profile view styles for the first, intermediate,
and last segments of the split profile view. For this exercise, accept
the default split profile view settings.

6 Click Next.

7 On the Profile Display Options page, clear the Draw check boxes for all
profiles except EG - Surface (1) and Layout (1). In the Layout (1) row,
select the Split At option. This option specifies that the split occurs at
the appropriate elevation of the layout profile and ensures that the entire
layout profile will appear in the profile view.

8 Scroll to the right until the Labels column is visible. In the EG - Surface
(1) row, click the Labels cell.

9 In the Pick Profile Label Set dialog box, select <None>. Click OK.

10 Click Create Profile View.

11 When prompted, pan and zoom to a clear area in the drawing window,
then click to create the profile view.
A new profile view is created. Notice that because you specified a shorter
maximum height in step 7, the profile view grid is shorter than the other
profile views in the drawing. In order to fit the profile in the shorter grid,
the profile has been split in two segments. The full length and elevations
of the red, layout profile are visible because you set the Split At setting
to Layout (1) in step 6. Notice that there is a vertical axis in the middle
of the profile view that displays the elevations for both split segments.

Exercise 4: Splitting a Profile View | 301


Modify the properties of the split profile view

1 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, expand the Alignments ➤ Centerline


Alignments ➤ Ridge Road ➤ Profile Views collections.
Notice that a single new profile view (PV - (4)) was created.

2 On the Prospector tab, right-click PV - (4). Click Properties.

3 In the Profile View Properties dialog box, on the Elevations tab, under
Elevation Range, change the Height to 15.000’.

4 Click Apply.
Notice that in the drawing window, the profile view has been split into
five segments to accommodate the new height.

Now you will change the style of the first and last profile view segments.

5 In the Profile View Properties dialog box, in the Split Profile View Data

table, in the No. 1 row, in the Profile View Style column, click .

6 In the Pick Profile View Style dialog box, select Left & Bottom Axis. Click
OK.

7 Repeat steps 5 and 6 to change the Profile View Style in row No. 4 to Full
Grid.

8 Click OK.
Three different profile view styles are displayed in the single profile view
grid. While a split profile is displayed in a single profile view grid, it may
have separate styles applied to each of its split segments.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 5: Creating Multiple Profile Views


(page 303).

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Exercise 5: Creating Multiple Profile Views
In this exercise, you will produce a set of profile views to display short,
successive segments of a profile.
Multiple profile views are most useful when you are creating final construction
documents from your design. For best results, design your profile in a single
profile view, then use the plan production tools to create multiple profile
views for plotting or publishing. During the plan production process, you
create sheets that display sections of alignments and profiles.
In this exercise, you will bypass the plan production tools to create multiple
profile views in a currently open drawing. You will use the Create Multiple
Profile Views wizard, which allows you to quickly specify the profile view
properties before you create them. If you access this wizard during the plan
production process, many of the properties are not available because they are
already set in the view frame group.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Working with
Profile Views.
For a tutorial that demonstrates the plan production tools, go to Plan
Production Tutorials (page 749).
This exercise continues from Exercise 4: Splitting a Profile View (page 300).

Create multiple profile views

1 Open Profile-5E.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759).
This drawing contains two roads, Maple Road and Oak Road, and a single
profile view of Oak Road.

2 Click Home tab ➤ Profile & Section Views panel ➤ Profile View
drop-down ➤ Create Multiple Profile Views.

3 In the Create Multiple Profile Views wizard, on the General page, specify
the following parameters:
■ Select Alignment: Oak Road

■ Profile View Style: Major Grids

4 Click Next.

5 On the Station Range page, in the Length of Each View box, enter 500.00’.

6 Click Next.

Exercise 5: Creating Multiple Profile Views | 303


7 On the Profile View Height page, specify the following parameters:
■ Profile View Height: User Specified

■ User Specified: 50.00’

■ Profile View Datum By: Mean Elevation


This option specifies that the profile lines will be positioned in the
profile based on the mean of the highest and lowest elevation value
of the profiles that are drawn in the grid. This option provides an
equal amount of space above and below the profile lines. This option
is useful when you have to annotate a profile that has fairly consistent
elevation values.

■ Split Profile View: Selected


This option makes the split profile view controls available, which
allow you to select separate profile view styles for the first,
intermediate, and last segments of any split profile views. For this
exercise, accept the default split profile view settings.

8 Click Next.

9 On the Profile Display Options page, ensure that the Draw check box is
selected for both profiles.

10 In the Oak Road - Proposed row, select the Split At option.


This option specifies that if the profiles contained in the profile view
must be split to fit in the specified profile view height, the split will occur
at the appropriate elevation of the layout profile. This option ensures
that the entire layout profile appears in the profile view.

11 Click Next to open the Pipe Network Display page.


You can use this page to select the pipe network or parts that you want
to display in the profile view. For this exercise, you will not display any
pipe network parts.

12 Click Next.

13 On the Data Bands page, under Select Band Set, select EG-FG Elevations
and Stations.

14 Click Next to open the Profile Hatch Options page.


You can use this page to specify hatch patterns between the profiles in
the profile view. For this exercise, you will not specify any hatch patterns.

15 Click Next.

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16 On the Multiple Plot Options page, set Maximum in a Row to 4.

17 Click Create Profile Views.

18 When prompted, pan and zoom to a clear area in the drawing window,
then click to create the profile views.

19 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, expand the Alignments, Oak Road,


and Profile Views collections.
Notice that a separate profile view was created for each 500.00’ segment.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 6: Creating Stacked Profile Views (page


305).

Exercise 6: Creating Stacked Profile Views


In this exercise, you will create a series of three profile views that contain a
centerline and left and right offset profiles.
Stacked profile views are a collection of related profiles that are drawn in
separate, vertically arranged profile views. When each profile is displayed on
its own profile view grid, more space is available to annotate each profile.

Exercise 6: Creating Stacked Profile Views | 305


For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Working with
Profile Views.
This exercise continues from Exercise 5: Creating Multiple Profile Views (page
303).

Create stacked profile views

1 Open Profile-5F.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759).
The drawing contains an existing ground surface, several alignments,
and a profile view. The profile view contains centerline and left and right
edge of pavement (EOP) profiles of the alignment that travels from North
to South along the West side of the site. Because the profiles are crowded
in the profile view, you will create a series of stacked profile views so that
you can see the profiles clearly and have ample room for annotation.

2 Click Home tab ➤ Profile & Section Views panel ➤ Profile View
drop-down ➤ Create Profile View.

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3 In the Create Profile View wizard, on the General page, specify the
following parameters:
■ Select Alignment: North-South Road

■ Show Offset Profiles By Vertically Stacking Profile Views: Selected


The graphic at the bottom of the page changes color to indicate that
the option is active.

NOTE The Profile View Style setting on this page is not used. You will assign
separate styles for each profile view in the stack.

4 On the left side of the Create Profile View wizard, click Stacked Profile.

5 On the Stacked Profile page, specify the following parameters:


■ Number Of Stacked Views: 3

■ Gap Between Views: 0

NOTE The Gap Between Views value is measured in drawing units. A


positive value adds space between the profile view grids. A negative value
causes the profile view grids to overlap.

■ Top View Style: Stacked - Top

■ Middle View Style: Stacked - Middle

■ Bottom View Style: Stacked - Bottom

6 Click Next.

7 On the Profile Display Options page, in the Select Stacked View To Specify
Options For list, select Middle View.

NOTE The number of views that is visible in this list depends on the value
you specified for Number Of Stacked Views in Step 5.

8 In the Specify Profile Display Options table, select the Draw check box
for the following profiles:
■ EG Centerline

■ Centerline

9 In the Select Stacked View To Specify Options For list, select Top View.

Exercise 6: Creating Stacked Profile Views | 307


10 In the Specify Profile Display Options table, select the Draw check box
for the following profiles:
■ EG Left Offset

■ EOP Left

11 In the Select Stacked View To Specify Options For list, select Bottom View.

12 In the Specify Profile Display Options table, select the Draw check box
for the following profiles:
■ EG Right Offset

■ EOP Right

13 Click Next.

14 On the Pipe Network Display page, in the Select Stacked View To Specify
Options For list, select Bottom View.
Most of the pipe network is on the right-hand side of the alignment. You
will specify that the pipe network components will be displayed in the
profile view that displays the right EOP profiles.

15 In the Select Pipe Network Parts To Draw In Profile View area, select the
Select check box.

16 In the Name column, expand the Network - (1) pipe network.

17 Clear the check boxes for the following parts:


■ W-E Pipe - (1)

■ W-E Pipe - (2)

■ W-E Structure - (1)

■ W-E Structure - (2)

These parts are a branch of the pipe network that follow the West-East
alignment.

18 In the Select Stacked View To Specify Options For list, select Middle View.

19 In the Select Pipe Networks To Draw In Profile View list, select the Select
check box.

20 Clear all check boxes except for the following parts:


■ W-E Pipe - (1)

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■ W-E Pipe - (2)

■ W-E Structure - (1)

■ W-E Structure - (2)

21 In the Select Stacked View To Specify Options For list, select Top View.

22 In the Select Pipe Networks To Draw In Profile View list, select the Select
check box.

23 Clear all check boxes except for the following parts:


■ W-E Pipe - (1)

■ W-E Pipe - (2)

■ W-E Structure - (1)

■ W-E Structure - (2)

24 Click Create Profile View.

25 In the drawing, pan to the clear area at the right of the surface. Click to
place the profile views.

26 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, expand the Alignments ➤ Road:


North-South ➤ Profile Views collection.
Notice that three separate profile views were created.

To continue to the next tutorial, go to Tutorial: Working with Data Bands


(page 309).

Tutorial: Working with Data Bands


This tutorial demonstrates how to add and change the appearance of data
bands in a profile view.
Data bands can be placed at either the top or bottom of the profile view to
annotate profile station and elevation data, vertical or horizontal geometry
points, and so on. Data bands can be added to a profile view either as a set or
individually.

NOTE Data bands are also used with section views. The tasks you will learn in the
following exercises can be applied to profile views and section views.

Tutorial: Working with Data Bands | 309


For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Adding Data Bands
to a Profile View.

Exercise 1: Adding Data Bands to a Profile View


In this exercise, you will add data bands along the bottom of a profile view.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Adding Data Bands
to a Profile View.

Add profile view data bands

1 Open Profile-6A.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759).
The data band at the top of profile view PV - (3) shows the locations of
horizontal curves in the parent alignment. Blue vertical lines cross the
profile view grid to mark the start and end of each horizontal curve. The
data band at the bottom annotates the elevation of both profiles at the
major stations.

2 Select the profile grid. Right-click. Click Profile View Properties.

3 In the Profile View Properties dialog box, on the Bands tab, specify the
following parameters:
■ Band Type: Vertical Geometry

■ Select Band Style: Geometry

■ Location: Bottom Of Profile View

4 Click Add.
The band is added to the bottom of the list.

310 | Chapter 8 Profiles Tutorials


5 Click Apply.
The new data band is displayed at the bottom of the stack of data bands.
This data band labels the vertical geometry points of the first profile in
the list. In this case, the existing ground profile was selected by default.
You will change the referenced profile later in this exercise.

6 In the Profile View Properties dialog box, on the Bands tab, specify the
following parameters:
■ Band Type: Horizontal Geometry

■ Select Band Style: Curvature

■ Location: Bottom Of Profile View

7 Click Add.

8 Click Apply.
The horizontal geometry band is added to the bottom of the profile view
in the drawing. This data band is drawn in a different style from the one
along the top of the grid. However, both styles show the location of
horizontal curves and are labeled with basic engineering data about the
curves. These bands are useful for evaluating the design profile from a
drainage and safety point-of-view.

Exercise 1: Adding Data Bands to a Profile View | 311


9 In the Profile View Properties dialog box, on the Bands tab, specify the
following parameters:
■ Band Type: Profile Data

■ Select Band Style: Horizontal and Vertical Geometry Point Distance

■ Location: Bottom Of Profile View

10 Click Add.
In the Geometry Points To Label In Band dialog box, you can specify the
individual horizontal and vertical geometry points to label using the
current style. For this exercise, you will accept the default selections.

11 In the Geometry Points To Label In Band dialog box, click OK.

NOTE For more information on geometry point labeling, see the Adding
Labels in Groups tutorial exercise (page 689).

12 Click Apply.
The new data band is displayed at the bottom of the stack of data bands.
This data band labels the incremental distance between the horizontal
geometry points of the parent alignment.

312 | Chapter 8 Profiles Tutorials


Change the profiles referenced in data bands

1 In the List Of Bands table, in the Profile1 column, change the value to
Layout (1) for the Profile Data band at the bottom of the list.

2 Click Apply.
Now, the Profile Data band shows elevations of both the existing ground
and finished grade profile at each major station. The Horizontal Geometry
Point Distance band displays the finished ground elevation at each
horizontal geometry point.

Exercise 1: Adding Data Bands to a Profile View | 313


3 For the Vertical Geometry band, change the Profile1 setting to Layout -
(1).

4 Click Apply.
Now, this band shows the length of each grade segment along the layout
profile.

Rearrange the data bands

1 In the table of bands list, select the Vertical Geometry band. Click
twice, then click Apply.
The Vertical Geometry band moves to the bottom of the stack of data
bands.

2 Click OK.
This arrangement of bands is convenient for analysis. It displays
horizontal and vertical geometry, as well as comparative elevation data
for the surface profile and the layout profile.
Notice that in the bottom, Vertical Geometry band, the labels in the
uphill tangents are obscured by the tangents. You will correct this in
Exercise 3: Modifying a Data Band Style (page 318).

314 | Chapter 8 Profiles Tutorials


To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Moving Labels in a Data Band (page
315).

Exercise 2: Moving Labels in a Data Band


In this exercise, you will learn how to rearrange labels in data bands.
Data band labels may overlap one another if the points they label are close
together. In this exercise, you will learn how to stagger a series of labels in a
data band, and then move individual data band labels to specific locations.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Profile Labels and
Label Styles.
This exercise continues from Exercise 1: Adding Data Bands to a Profile View
(page 310).

Stagger data band labels

1 Open Profile-6B.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759).
The data bands at the bottom of profile view PV - (3) annotate the
horizontal and vertical geometry of the proposed road alignment, and
the elevation of each profile at the major stations.

2 Zoom in to the following area.

Exercise 2: Moving Labels in a Data Band | 315


The horizontal and vertical geometry labels overlap in this area.

3 Select one of the geometry labels in this band. Right-click. Click Properties.

4 In the Properties palette, under Staggering, specify the following


parameters:
■ Auto Stagger: Stagger Both Sides

■ Stagger Line Height: 0.2500

The band labels are evenly spaced along the data band, and leader lines
are created to the label anchor points.

316 | Chapter 8 Profiles Tutorials


Move data band labels

1 In the bottom data band, Ctrl+click the following label.

2 Drag the grip down and to the right. Click to place the label.

3 Click the grip. Drag the grip to the left. Click to place the grip.
A new vertex is added to the label leader line.

Exercise 2: Moving Labels in a Data Band | 317


4 Repeat Steps 1 through 3 to move the labels that are to the left of the one
you just moved.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 3: Modifying a Data Band Style (page


318).

Exercise 3: Modifying a Data Band Style


In this exercise, you will learn how to change the data that is displayed in a
data band.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Profile Labels and
Label Styles.
This exercise continues from Exercise 2: Moving Labels in a Data Band (page
315).

Modify the data band style

1 Open Profile-6C.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759).

318 | Chapter 8 Profiles Tutorials


Notice that in the bottom, Vertical Geometry band, the labels in the
uphill tangents are obscured by the tangents.

2 Select the profile grid. Right-click. Click Profile View Properties.

3 In the Profile View Properties dialog box, on the Bands tab, in the Location
field, select Bottom Of Profile View.

4 In the Vertical Geometry row, click next to Geometry.

5 In the Pick Band Style dialog box, click Edit Current Selection.

6 In the Vertical Geometry Band Style dialog box, on the Band Details tab,
in the Labels and Ticks area, the At field indicates which type of band
labeling has the focus of the editing tools. Make sure that Uphill Tangent
is selected.

7 In the Labels and Ticks area, click Compose Label.


The Label Style Composer dialog box contains the controls for creating
and editing label components. Notice the many controls that are available
for band label format.

8 In the Text collection, change the Attachment value to Bottom Center.

9 Click OK three times.

10 In the Profile View Properties dialog box, click Apply.


Notice that in the drawing, the position of the data band’s uphill tangent
label has changed.

Further exploration: Change the label position for the downhill tangents
and sag and crest curves.

Exercise 3: Modifying a Data Band Style | 319


320
Parcels Tutorials
9
These tutorials will get you started creating and editing parcels.
Parcel objects in AutoCAD Civil 3D are typically used to represent real estate parcels, such as
lots in a subdivision.

NOTE All drawings used in these tutorials are available in the tutorial drawings folder (page
759). If you want to save your work from these tutorials, save the drawings to the My Civil
Tutorial Data folder (page 759) so that you do not overwrite the original drawings.

For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Understanding Parcels.

Tutorial: Creating Parcels


This tutorial demonstrates the main methods for creating parcels.
You can create parcels either from drawing objects, such as lines, arcs, or
polylines, or by using the parcel layout tools. Parcels can also be created
automatically by the interaction of alignments and other parcels within a site.
Parcels are contained in a parcels collection, which in turn is contained by a
site. Each site can include only one parcels collection, but a parcels collection
can include any number of parcels.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Creating Parcels.

Exercise 1: Creating Parcels from AutoCAD Objects


In this exercise, you will convert AutoCAD entities to land parcels with automatic
labels that show useful topological data, such as land area.

321
Parcel layout tools are available to create and edit parcels with precision. You
will learn more about the Parcel Layout tools in later AutoCAD Civil 3D tutorial
exercises.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Creating Parcels
from Objects.

Create parcels from existing AutoCAD objects

1 Open drawing Parcel-1A_M.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings


folder (page 759).
This drawing contains an existing ground surface, alignments that
represent intersecting road centerlines, and AutoCAD lines and arcs that
represent property boundaries. In the following steps, you will create
AutoCAD Civil 3D parcel objects from the existing lines and arcs.

2 Click Home tab ➤ Create Design panel ➤ Parcel drop-down ➤ Create

Parcel From Object .

3 Select the lines and the polyline border at the east side of the site, north
of the First Street alignment. Press Enter.

NOTE On the command line, notice that a variety of AutoCAD objects can
be used to create parcels.

322 | Chapter 9 Parcels Tutorials


4 In the Create Parcels – From Objects dialog box, specify the following
parameters:
■ Site: Site 1

■ Parcel Style: Single-Family

■ Area Label Style: Parcel Number And Area

NOTE Parcels must have area labels, but segment labels are optional.

■ Automatically Add Segment Labels: Selected

■ Erase Existing Entities: Selected

5 Click OK.
The parcels are created and labeled. The labels annotate the overall parcel
area, as well as the bearing and distance of each line and curve segment.
These labels are automatically updated if any line or curve segments are
edited or deleted.
The numbers with a circular border are automatically generated parcel
numbers. You will change these numbers to use a more desirable
numbering convention.

Exercise 1: Creating Parcels from AutoCAD Objects | 323


Change the parcel numbering

1 Click a parcel number to select it. Click Parcel tab ➤ Modify

panel ➤ Renumber/Rename .

2 In the Renumber/Rename Parcels dialog box, specify the following


parameters:
■ Renumber: Selected

■ Starting Number: 101

■ Increment Value: 1

3 Click OK.

4 To specify a start point, click to top-most parcel.

5 To specify an end point, click the bottom-most parcel.

6 Press Enter twice.


The parcel area labels are now numbered in ascending order, with three
digits.

324 | Chapter 9 Parcels Tutorials


To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Subdividing a Parcel with a
Free-Form Segment (page 325).

Exercise 2: Subdividing a Parcel with a Free-Form


Segment
In this exercise, you will successively subdivide a parcel with segments that
can be placed along any lot line.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Creating Parcels
by Layout.
This exercise continues from Exercise 1: Creating Parcels from AutoCAD Objects
(page 321).

Create parcels using a free-form line

1 Open Parcel-1B.dwg, which is available in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759).

2 Click Home tab ➤ Create Design panel ➤ Parcel drop-down ➤ Parcel


Creation Tools .

Exercise 2: Subdividing a Parcel with a Free-Form Segment | 325


3 On the Parcel Layout Tools toolbar, click Free Form Create.

4 In the Create Parcels - Layout dialog box, click OK.

5 In the drawing, snap to the endpoint shown in the following image.


Notice that frontage does not need to be specified.

6 To specify the lot line direction, move the cursor straight up, and snap
to the intersection of the back lot line.

326 | Chapter 9 Parcels Tutorials


The new parcel is created and labeled.

7 Repeat Steps 5 and 6 to create another lot line as shown in the following
image.

Exercise 2: Subdividing a Parcel with a Free-Form Segment | 327


8 Press Esc to end the command.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 3: Subdividing a Parcel with a Slide


Line (page 328).

Exercise 3: Subdividing a Parcel with a Slide Line


In this exercise, you will successively subdivide a parcel with segments that
are defined by their angle at the frontage.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Creating Parcels
by Layout.
This exercise continues from Exercise 2: Subdividing a Parcel with a Free-Form
Segment (page 325).

328 | Chapter 9 Parcels Tutorials


Specify parcel creation settings

1 Open Parcel-1C.dwg, which is available in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759).

2 Click Home tab ➤ Create Design panel ➤ Parcel drop-down ➤ Parcel


Creation Tools .

3 On the Parcel Layout Tools toolbar, click .

4 Specify the following parameters:


As you specify each parameter, notice that a preview graphic is displayed
at the bottom of the Parcel Layout Tools window.

Parcel Sizing

■ Minimum Area: 7000.00

■ Minimum Frontage: 40.0000

■ Use Minimum Frontage At Offset: Yes

■ Frontage Offset: 20.0000

■ Minimum Width: 40.0000

■ Minimum Depth: 50.0000

■ Use Maximum Depth: Yes

■ Maximum Depth: 200.0000

■ Multiple Solution Preference: Use Smallest Area

Automatic Layout

■ Automatic Mode: Off

■ Remainder Distribution: Place Remainder In Last Parcel

NOTE When Automatic Mode is set to Off, the Remainder Distribution


setting does not affect parcel layout. This setting will be used in later
exercises.

Exercise 3: Subdividing a Parcel with a Slide Line | 329


Create individual parcels using a slide line

1 In the Parcel Layout Tools toolbar, click Slide Line – Create.

2 In the Create Parcels – Layout dialog box, for Parcel Style, select
Single-Family. Leave other settings at their default values. Click OK.

3 Click the area label for parcel Single-Family: 101.

4 Specify the start and end points of the parcel frontage as shown in the
following image.
Notice that when you move the cursor to specify the end point, a yellow
line displays the proposed frontage.

NOTE When you specify the frontage starting point, do not snap to the
beginning of the curve. If the frontage starts at the beginning point of the
curve, no solution will be found.

5 Enter a frontage angle of 90 degrees.

330 | Chapter 9 Parcels Tutorials


Preview graphics of the parcel creation parameters and proposed solution
are displayed. The graphics are similar to those that were displayed while
you were specifying parcel creation parameters in the Parcel Layout Tools
window.

6 Press Enter.
The new parcel is created and labeled, and a preview of the next parcel
is displayed in the drawing.

7 In the Parcel Layout Tools dialog box, for Minimum Area, enter 8000.
Notice that the preview graphic updates to reflect the changed area value.

8 Press Enter.
Two new parcels are created and labeled.

Exercise 3: Subdividing a Parcel with a Slide Line | 331


Create multiple parcels simultaneously

1 In the Parcel Layout Tools toolbar, click Slide Line – Create.

2 Under Automatic Layout, specify the following parameters:


■ Automatic Mode: On

■ Remainder Distribution: Place Remainder In Last Parcel

3 Click the area label for the large parcel on the south side of the site.

4 Specify the start and end points of the parcel frontage as shown in the
following image.

332 | Chapter 9 Parcels Tutorials


5 Enter a frontage angle of 90 degrees.
A preview of the proposed parcels is displayed.

Exercise 3: Subdividing a Parcel with a Slide Line | 333


6 Press Enter.
The new parcels are created and labeled.

NOTE You will correct the placement of some of the lot lines in the Editing
Parcel Data (page 341) tutorial.

334 | Chapter 9 Parcels Tutorials


7 Press Esc to end the command.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 4: Subdividing a Parcel with a Swing


Line (page 335).

Exercise 4: Subdividing a Parcel with a Swing Line


In this exercise, you will subdivide a parcel with a segment that swings from
a reference point on the back line.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Creating Parcels
by Layout.
This exercise continues from Exercise 3: Subdividing a Parcel with a Slide Line
(page 328).

Exercise 4: Subdividing a Parcel with a Swing Line | 335


Specify parcel creation settings

1 Open Parcel-1D.dwg, which is available in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759).

2 Click Home tab ➤ Create Design panel ➤ Parcel drop-down ➤ Parcel


Creation Tools .

3 On the Parcel Layout Tools toolbar, click .

4 Specify the following parameters:


As you specify each parameter, notice that a preview graphic is displayed
at the bottom of the Parcel Layout Tools window.

Parcel Sizing

■ Minimum Area: 8000.00

■ Minimum Frontage: 40.0000

■ Use Minimum Frontage At Offset: Yes

■ Frontage Offset: 20.0000

■ Minimum Width: 40.0000

■ Minimum Depth: 50.0000

■ Use Maximum Depth: Yes

■ Maximum Depth: 200.0000

■ Multiple Solution Preference: Use Smallest Area

Automatic Layout

■ Automatic Mode: Off

■ Remainder Distribution: Place Remainder In Last Parcel

Create parcels using a swing line

1 On the Parcel Layout Tools toolbar, click Swing Line – Create.

2 In the Create Parcels – Layout dialog box, for Parcel Style, select
Single-Family. Leave other settings at their default values. Click OK.

336 | Chapter 9 Parcels Tutorials


3 In the drawing, select the area label of the large parcel in the northeast
corner of the site.

4 Specify the start and end points of the parcel frontage as shown in the
following image.
Notice that when you move the cursor to specify the end point, a yellow
line displays the proposed frontage.

5 Click the northeast corner of the parcel to specify the swing point.
A preview graphic is displayed.

Exercise 4: Subdividing a Parcel with a Swing Line | 337


6 Press Enter to create the parcel.
The new parcel is created and labeled.

338 | Chapter 9 Parcels Tutorials


7 Press Esc to end the command.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 5: Working with Alignments and


Parcels (page 339).

Exercise 5: Working with Alignments and Parcels


In this exercise, you will create an alignment outside of a site and move existing
alignments out of sites. These practices eliminate unwanted parcels being
created by alignments interacting with a site.
When an alignment is in a site, it creates new parcels if it forms closed areas
by crossing over itself or other alignments or parcels on the same site.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Understanding
Sites.

Exercise 5: Working with Alignments and Parcels | 339


Examine alignments in a site

1 Open Parcel-1E.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759).
This drawing contains five roads off of a main West-East road. The two
Northern side roads have centerline alignments, each of which created
a parcel in the roadway and cul-de-sac center island. In the next few steps,
you will convert the centerline of one of the Southern side roads to an
alignment and prevent it from forming parcels.

2 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, expand Sites ➤ Site


1 ➤ Alignments ➤ Centerline Alignments.
Notice that the four existing centerline alignments all reside in Site 1,
while the top-level Alignments collection (above the Sites collection) is
empty.

Create an alignment outside of a site

1 Click Home tab ➤ Create Design panel ➤ Alignment drop-down ➤ Create


Alignment From Objects .

2 When prompted, select the red centerline for the road in the lower middle
of the drawing.

3 Press Enter twice.


The Create Alignment from Objects dialog box is displayed. Notice that,
by default, the Site is set to <None>.

4 Click OK.

5 Expand the top-level Alignments ➤ Centerline Alignments collection in


Prospector.
Notice that the new alignment was placed in the Alignments collection,
and did not form a parcel in the cul-de-sac center island. This happened
because you accepted the default <None> Site selection when you were
prompted to select a site in step 3. In the next few steps, you will move
one of the two existing cul-de-sac road alignments out of its existing site
and into the top-level Alignments collection.

Move alignments out of a site

1 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, right-click Alignment - (4), which is


the cul-de-sac alignment to the Northeast of the alignment you created.
Click Move To Site.

340 | Chapter 9 Parcels Tutorials


2 In the Move To Site dialog box, make sure that the Destination Site is set
to <None>.

3 Click OK.
Notice that in Toolspace on the Prospector tab, Alignment - (4) has moved
to the top-level Alignments collection. In the drawing window, the parcel
label and hatching has been removed from the cul-de-sac center island.

Further Exploration: Repeat the preceding steps to move Alignment - (3)


to the top-level Alignments collection.

4 Close Parcel-1E.dwg.

To continue to the next tutorial, go to Editing Parcel Data (page 341).

Tutorial: Editing Parcel Data


This tutorial demonstrates two ways of resizing a parcel by moving a lot line.
The tools that you use to edit a parcel lot line depends on whether the lot line
is attached.
An attached lot line is a parcel segment that was created with the slide angle,
slide direction, and swing line precise sizing tools on the Parcel Layout Tools
toolbar. You can use the slide angle, slide direction, and swing line precise

Tutorial: Editing Parcel Data | 341


editing tools to edit only attached lot lines. In this tutorial, you will learn how
to use two precise editing tools:

■ The Slide Angle – Edit tool slides a lot line at a specified angle through a
selected parcel until a target area is enclosed.

■ The Swing Line – Edit tool swings a lot line from a specified point through
a selected parcel until a target area is enclosed.

If a lot line is created either from other AutoCAD Civil 3D objects or the fixed
line and curve tools on the Parcel Layout Tools toolbar, it is not attached. You
can use grips and the feature line editing tools to change the geometry of
these lot lines.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Editing Parcels.

Exercise 1: Sliding a Parcel Lot Line


In this exercise, you will resize a parcel by sliding an attached lot line along
the parcel frontage.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Editing Parcels by
Layout.

Specify parcel creation settings

1 Open Parcel-2A.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759).

2 Click Home tab ➤ Create Design panel ➤ Parcel drop-down ➤ Parcel


Creation Tools .

3 On the Parcel Layout Tools toolbar, click .

4 Specify the following parameters:


As you specify each parameter, notice that a preview graphic is displayed
at the bottom of the Parcel Layout Tools window.

Parcel Sizing

■ Minimum Area: 8000.00

■ Minimum Frontage: 40.0000

■ Use Minimum Frontage At Offset: Yes

342 | Chapter 9 Parcels Tutorials


■ Frontage Offset: 20.0000

■ Minimum Width: 40.0000

■ Minimum Depth: 50.0000

■ Use Maximum Depth: Yes

■ Maximum Depth: 200.0000

■ Multiple Solution Preference: Use Smallest Area

Automatic Layout

■ Automatic Mode: Off

■ Remainder Distribution: Place Remainder In Last Parcel

Slide a parcel lot line

1 In the Parcel Layout Tools toolbar, click Slide Line - Edit.

2 In the Create Parcels – Layout dialog box, click OK.


You are prompted to select the attached lot line to adjust.

NOTE An attached lot line is one that was created with the slide angle, slide
direction, and swing line precise sizing tools available on the Parcel Layout
Tools toolbar. You can use the slide line edit command to edit only attached
lot lines. You will learn how to edit lot lines created using other methods in
Exercise 3: Editing Parcel Lot Line Geometry (page 355).

3 In the drawing, click the lot line that is between parcel 108 and parcel
109.

4 Select the parcel to adjust by moving the cursor over property 109. The
parcel borders are highlighted. Click inside the parcel.

Exercise 1: Sliding a Parcel Lot Line | 343


5 Specify the parcel frontage as shown in the following image.

344 | Chapter 9 Parcels Tutorials


6 Enter a frontage angle of 90.
Preview graphics of the parcel creation parameters and proposed solution
are displayed. The displayed solution slides the lot line along the frontage
at the angle specified. The proposed solution encloses an area that meets
the parcel creation parameters you specified at the beginning of this
exercise.

Exercise 1: Sliding a Parcel Lot Line | 345


7 Press Enter.

346 | Chapter 9 Parcels Tutorials


Further exploration: Use Steps 3 through 8 to move the lot lines that are
between parcels 108, 109, and 110 to match the parcel layout of parcels
101, 102, and 103.

Exercise 1: Sliding a Parcel Lot Line | 347


8 Press Esc to end the command.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Swinging One End of a Parcel Lot


Line (page 348).

Exercise 2: Swinging One End of a Parcel Lot Line


In this exercise, you will resize a parcel by swinging an attached lot line from
a specified reference point.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Editing Parcels by
Layout.
This exercise continues from Exercise 1: Sliding a Parcel Lot Line (page 342).

Specify parcel creation settings

1 Open Parcel-2B.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759).

348 | Chapter 9 Parcels Tutorials


2 Click Home tab ➤ Create Design panel ➤ Parcel drop-down ➤ Parcel
Creation Tools .

3 On the Parcel Layout Tools toolbar, click .

4 Specify the following parameters:


As you specify each parameter, notice that a preview graphic is displayed
at the bottom of the Parcel Layout Tools window.

Parcel Sizing

■ Minimum Area: 8000.00

■ Minimum Frontage: 40.0000

■ Use Minimum Frontage At Offset: No

■ Frontage Offset: 20.0000

■ Minimum Width: 40.0000

■ Minimum Depth: 50.0000

■ Use Maximum Depth: Yes

■ Maximum Depth: 200.0000

■ Multiple Solution Preference: Use Shortest Frontage

Automatic Layout

■ Automatic Mode: Off

■ Remainder Distribution: Place Remainder In Last Parcel

Swing one end of a parcel lot line

1 On the Parcel Layout Tools toolbar, click Swing Line – Edit.

2 In the Create Parcels – Layout dialog box, click OK.


You are prompted to select the attached lot line to adjust.

3 In the drawing, click the lot line that is between parcel 104 and parcel
105.

4 Select the parcel to adjust by moving the cursor over property 104 and
clicking. Notice that the parcel borders are highlighted.

Exercise 2: Swinging One End of a Parcel Lot Line | 349


5 Specify the parcel frontage as shown in the following image.

350 | Chapter 9 Parcels Tutorials


NOTE You must turn off OSNAP to perform the following step.

6 Move the cursor to the approximate location in the following image.

Exercise 2: Swinging One End of a Parcel Lot Line | 351


7 Click to place the reference point.
Preview graphics of the parcel creation parameters and proposed solution
are displayed. The displayed solution swings the lot line along the
reference point. The proposed solution encloses an area that meets the
parcel creation parameters you specified at the beginning of this exercise.

352 | Chapter 9 Parcels Tutorials


8 Press Enter.

Exercise 2: Swinging One End of a Parcel Lot Line | 353


Further exploration: Use Steps 3 through 8 to move the lot line that is
between parcels 106 and 107.

354 | Chapter 9 Parcels Tutorials


9 Press Esc to end the command.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 3: Editing Parcel Lot Line Geometry


(page 355).

Exercise 3: Editing Parcel Lot Line Geometry


In this exercise, you will use the feature line editing tools to modify parcel lot
line geometry.
You will use two different methods to change the geometry of the two large
parcels at the end of the cul-de-sac.
First, you will learn about the grips that are available on lot lines. You will use
lot line grips with the feature line tools to change the geometry of a parcel.
Second, you will join two separate lot lines, and then remove a point of
intersection from the combined lot line.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Editing Parcels.

Exercise 3: Editing Parcel Lot Line Geometry | 355


This exercise continues from Exercise 2: Swinging One End of a Parcel Lot
Line (page 348).

Add a point of intersection to a parcel lot line

1 Open Parcel-2C.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759).

2 Select the back lot line that is shared by parcels 105 and 106.

3 Click Parcel Segment tab ➤ Edit Geometry Panel.


The Edit Geometry panel is displayed in the ribbon.

4 Click Parcel Segment tab ➤ Edit Geometry ➤ Insert PI.

5 Snap to the intersection of the back lot line and the lot line that separates
parcels 105 and 106. Click to insert a point of intersection.

6 Press Enter to accept the default elevation of 0.

7 Press Esc twice to end the command.

356 | Chapter 9 Parcels Tutorials


The back lot line now has a point of intersection at the point at which
the parcels meet. With a PI in this location, you can edit the lot line on
one of the parcels without affecting the other.

Grip edit a parcel lot line

1 In the drawing, select the lot line that separates parcel 104 and 105.
Notice the grip on the lot line. This grip is available on attached lot
lines, which are created with the slide angle, slide direction, and swing
line precise sizing tools available on the Parcel Layout Tools toolbar. You
can use this grip to slide the lot line along the lot line to which it is
attached.

2 Press Esc to deselect the lot line.

3 Select the back lot line that is shared by parcels 105 and 106.

Notice the grips on the ends of the lot line. These grips are available
on lot lines that were created either from other AutoCAD Civil 3D objects
or the fixed line and curve tools available on the Parcel Layout Tools
toolbar. You can use these grips to change the endpoint location of a lot
line.

4 Click the grip at the top of the lot line. Drag the grip toward the lot line
that separates parcels 104 and 105. Snap to the intersection of the three
lot lines. Click to place the grip.

Exercise 3: Editing Parcel Lot Line Geometry | 357


Notice that the area of parcel 105 has changed. However, there is now
an unnecessary lot line remaining to the North of the parcel. You will
delete the unnecessary portion of that lot line in the following steps.

Trim an extraneous parcel lot line

1 Click Parcel Segment tab ➤ Edit Geometry panel ➤ Trim.

2 Select the back lot line of parcel 105 as the cutting edge. Press Enter.

3 Select the lot line that extends past parcel 105 as the object to trim.

358 | Chapter 9 Parcels Tutorials


4 Press Enter to end the command.

Break a parcel lot line

1 Click Parcel Segment tab ➤ Edit Geometry panel ➤ Break.

2 Select the back lot line that is shared by parcels 106 through 110.

3 On the command line, enter F to specify the first point to break.

4 In the drawing, snap to the intersection of the back lot line and the lot
line that separates parcels 107 and 108. Click the intersection.

Exercise 3: Editing Parcel Lot Line Geometry | 359


5 Press Enter.
Two lot lines are created, separated at the point you specified.

Join two parcel lot lines

1 Click Parcel Segment tab ➤ Edit Geometry panel ➤ Join.

2 In the drawing, click the two lot lines that form the southeast corner of
parcel 106.

3 Press Enter.
The two lot lines are now a single entity.

Delete a point of intersection

1 Click Parcel Segment tab ➤ Edit Geometry panel ➤ Delete PI.

2 In the drawing, select the lot line that forms the south and east boundaries
of the parcel.

3 Click the green PI at the southeast corner of parcel 108.

360 | Chapter 9 Parcels Tutorials


4 Press Enter twice to end the command.

To continue to the next tutorial, go to Displaying and Analyzing Parcels (page


361).

Tutorial: Displaying and Analyzing Parcels


This tutorial demonstrates using parcel styles and display order to control the
appearance of parcels, and exporting reports to analyze parcel data.
The parcel display order, which is set in the Site Parcel Properties dialog box,
controls the display of shared parcel segments. The different styles of parcels
in a drawing are drawn in a specified order that you can control. Where two
styles of parcels share a common segment, the displayed color of the segment
is determined by the parcel style that is drawn last.
AutoCAD Civil 3D allows you to export inverse or map check reports for either
a single parcel, a series of parcels, or all parcels in a site.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topics Parcel Styles,
Parcel Properties, and Exporting a Parcel Inverse or Mapcheck Report.

Tutorial: Displaying and Analyzing Parcels | 361


For a tutorial on using the AutoCAD Civil 3D survey tools to perform a
mapcheck analysis, see the Outputting Survey Information (page 159).

Exercise 1: Changing Parcel Style Display Order


In this exercise, you will control the display of overlapping parcel lines.
Parcel style display order in AutoCAD Civil 3D controls which lot lines are
visible where different types overlap.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Changing Parcel
Display Order.

Change parcel style display order

1 Open Parcel-3A.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759).

2 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, expand the Sites ➤ Site 1 collection.


Right-click the Parcels collection. Click Properties.
In the Parcel Style Display Order area, note that Single-Family parcels
have the highest display order, which explains why their magenta lines
cover the blue Standard lines.

362 | Chapter 9 Parcels Tutorials


3 In the Parcel Style Display Order list, select Standard and click to move
it to the top of the stack.

4 Click Apply.
After the model regenerates, notice that the blue Standard lot lines have
overwritten the pink ones for Single-Family lots.

Exercise 1: Changing Parcel Style Display Order | 363


5 Repeat steps 3 and 4, but give the Property style the highest display order.
This setting displays a light blue line around the extents of the site.

364 | Chapter 9 Parcels Tutorials


Further exploration: Change the display order again, moving the Road
(Local) parcels to the top of the display order, then moving them to a
position between Standard and Single-Family. These settings change the
display of the curved road edges.

6 Click OK.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Exporting Parcel Data (page 365).

Exercise 2: Exporting Parcel Data


In this exercise, you will generate a mapcheck report for the parcels in the
residential road at the top right of the drawing.
In AutoCAD Civil 3D you can export inverse or mapcheck reports for either
a single parcel, a series of parcels, or all parcels in a site.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Exporting a Parcel
Inverse or Mapcheck Report.

Exercise 2: Exporting Parcel Data | 365


This exercise continues from Exercise 1: Changing Parcel Style Display Order
(page 362).

To export parcel data

NOTE This exercise uses Parcel-3A.dwg with the modifications you made in the
previous exercise.

1 On the Toolspace Prospector tab, expand Sites ➤ Site 1 ➤ Parcels.

2 In the list view below the Prospector tree, click the heading of the Number
column to sort the parcels by number.

3 Select parcel numbers 120 through 136. Parcel number 136, STANDARD:
131, represents the road on which the parcels are located. Ctrl+click parcel
number 136 in the list view to deselect it and exclude it from the analysis.

4 In the list view, right-click and select Export Analysis.

5 In the Export Parcel Analysis dialog box, specify the following parameters:

■ Destination File: Click and navigate to the My Civil Tutorial Data


folder (page 759). Name the file ExportAnalysis.txt.

■ Analysis Type: Mapcheck Analysis

6 Click OK.
The ExportAnalysis.txt file automatically opens in the text editor associated
with AutoCAD Civil 3D and is saved in the location you specified in Step
5.

NOTE If the file does not automatically open, open it from the My Civil
Tutorial Data folder (page 759).

366 | Chapter 9 Parcels Tutorials


Grading Tutorials
10
These tutorials will get you started with adjusting grading settings, creating gradings, and
editing gradings to balance cut and fill volumes.
A grading object in AutoCAD Civil 3D, like an alignment or a surface, has its own properties
and behaviors.

NOTE All drawings used in these tutorials are available in the tutorial drawings folder (page
759). If you want to save your work from these tutorials, save the drawings to the My Civil
Tutorial Data folder (page 759) so that you do not overwrite the original drawings.

For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Understanding Grading Objects.

Tutorial: Setting up Grading Standards


This tutorial demonstrates how to adjust grading settings, criteria, and styles.
Grading settings are used for managing the work environment and specifying
the units for grade and slope values.
There are many common grading situations. For example, you may frequently
need to create grading with a slope of 3:1 and a target of a relative elevation.
By defining a grading criteria with these settings and saving it, you can easily
apply these same criteria to other gradings.
Grading styles control the display of each grading component. You can create
different styles to use for different types of gradings. For example, you can create
styles to display different colors for cut and fill slopes.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topics Using Grading
Criteria and Using Grading Styles.

367
Exercise 1: Reviewing Grading Settings
In this exercise, you will learn how to use grading settings.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Changing Grading
Settings.

Review grading settings

1 Open Grading-1.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759).

2 In Toolspace, on the Settings tab, right-click Grading ➤ Edit Feature


Settings.

3 In the Edit Feature Settings dialog box, expand the General collection.

4 In the Save Command Changes To Settings property, verify that the value
is set to Yes.
This setting saves command settings for reuse. For example, if you create
a grading and set the grade to 5%, then 5% is the default value the next
time you create a grading.

5 Expand the collections for Grade, Slope, and Grade/Slope.


Notice the options for unit format and precision. The integer value for
precision specifies the number of digits to the right of the decimal place.

6 Click OK.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Creating Grading Criteria (page


368).

Exercise 2: Creating Grading Criteria


In this exercise, you will create a grading criteria set for a ditch grading, then
create three criteria in the set.
Each grading criteria provides a standard formula for creating a graded slope.
Individual criteria values can be locked so that they cannot be changed for
individual gradings.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Using Grading
Criteria.
This exercise continues from Exercise 1: Reviewing Grading Settings (page 368).

368 | Chapter 10 Grading Tutorials


Create a criteria set

NOTE This exercise uses Grading-1.dwg with the modifications you made in the
previous exercise.

1 In Toolspace, on the Settings tab, expand the Grading collection.

2 Expand the Grading Criteria Sets collection.


The Grading Criteria Sets collection displays the existing grading sets for
the drawing. You will create a new grading criteria set then create two
new criteria within the new set.

3 Right-click Grading Criteria Sets. Click New.

4 In the Grading Criteria Set Properties dialog box, enter Ditch Criteria Set
in the Name field, and optionally enter a description.

5 Click OK.
The new criteria set is displayed in the Grading Criteria Sets collection.

Create a grading criteria

1 Right-click Ditch Criteria Set. Click New.

2 In the Grading Criteria dialog box, click the Information tab.

3 In the Name field, enter Distance @ -6%.


This criteria creates a grade to a distance of 10 feet at -6% grade.

4 Click the Criteria tab and specify the following parameters:


■ Target: Distance

■ Distance: 10.000’

■ Projection: Slope

■ Format: Grade

■ Grade: -6.000%

5 For the Grade parameter, click to change it to . When you lock a


grade value in a grading criteria, you are not prompted to specify its value
each time you use the criteria.

6 Click OK.

Exercise 2: Creating Grading Criteria | 369


Create a second grading criteria

1 Create a second criteria by repeating the previous procedure. However,


use the name Surface @ 4-1 Slope and set the following values for the
criteria:
■ Target: Surface

■ Projection: Cut/Fill Slope

■ Search Order: Cut First

Set the following values for both the Cut Slope Projection and Fill Slope
Projection property groups:
■ Format: Slope

■ Slope: 4:1

This criteria creates a grade to an existing surface at a 4-to-1 slope. In the


next few steps, you will create another grading criteria by copying an
existing one.

2 Click OK to close the Grading Criteria dialog box.

Copy a grading criteria

1 In the Grading Criteria Sets collection, expand the Basic Set. Right-click
the Relative Elevation @ Slope criteria. Click Copy.

2 In the Grading Criteria dialog box, change the name to Relative Elevation
@ 3-1 Slope. Specify the following parameters:
■ Target: Relative Elevation

■ Relative Elevation: -3.0’

■ Projection: Slope

■ Format: Slope

■ Slope: 3:1

This criteria creates a grade to a relative elevation of –3 feet at a 3-to-1


slope.

3 Click OK to close the Grading Criteria dialog box.

4 On the Toolspace Settings tab, click and drag the new criteria (Relative
Elevation @ 3-1 Slope) from the Basic Set to the Ditch Criteria Set.

370 | Chapter 10 Grading Tutorials


When you create a criteria by copying, the new criteria name must be
unique within the drawing, regardless of criteria set.

To continue this tutorial, continue to Exercise 3: Creating Grading Styles (page


371).

Exercise 3: Creating Grading Styles


In this exercise, you will create a new grading style and slope pattern.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Using Grading
Style.
This exercise continues from Exercise 2: Creating Grading Criteria (page 368).

Create a new grading style

NOTE This exercise uses Grading-1.dwg with the modifications you made in the
previous exercise.

1 In Toolspace, on the Settings tab, right-click the Grading Styles collection.


Click New.

2 In the Grading Style dialog box, click the Information tab. Enter Ditch
into the name field. Optionally, enter a description for the style.

3 Click the Display tab and change the color of the Daylight Line to red
by clicking its entry in the Color column.
The Select Color dialog box is displayed, where you can select a color.
Select red, then click OK.

4 Click the Slope Patterns tab.

5 Select the Slope Pattern check box. Select the Basic style.

6 Click the style drop down list and click Copy Current Selection.

7 In the Slope Pattern Style dialog box, on the Information tab, change the
name to Ditch Slope.

8 On the Layout tab, in the Component field, select Component 2.


The parameter table displays values for Component 2, which is the second
slope pattern component from the left side. In this case, it is a long line
with a tapered line symbol along the top of the slope.

9 In the Slope Line Symbol section, change the Symbol Type to None.

Exercise 3: Creating Grading Styles | 371


Further exploration: For Component 1, in the Slope Line section, change
Percent Of Length to a higher value. You can see the results in the Preview
pane.

10 Click OK. The new Ditch Slope pattern is selected for the Ditch grading
style.

11 To view summary information about the style, click the Summary tab.

12 Click OK.
In Toolspace, on the Settings tab, the Ditch grading style is added to the
Grading Styles collection. The Ditch Slope pattern is added to the General
➤ Multipurpose Styles ➤ Slope Pattern Styles collection.

To continue to the next tutorial, go to Creating Gradings (page 372).

Tutorial: Creating Gradings


This tutorial demonstrates how to create a feature line and how to grade from
the feature line.
You can create gradings from parcel lot lines or feature lines. A feature line is
a linear object that the grading commands can recognize and use as a baseline.
When designing a grading, you must often adjust the elevations along a feature
line. You create a feature line by converting existing objects, such as lines or
polylines.
In the next two exercises, you will perform the following tasks:

■ Create three feature lines.

■ Assign elevation values along the feature lines using several methods.

■ Create a set of gradings from one of the feature lines.

For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Creating Grading.

Exercise 1: Creating Feature Lines


In this exercise, you will use two different methods to create feature lines.
Feature lines can be either drawn with straight and curved feature line
segments, or created from existing alignments or AutoCAD lines, arcs,
polylines, or 3D polylines.

372 | Chapter 10 Grading Tutorials


A feature line can be used as a grading baseline, but not as a target.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Creating Feature
Lines.
This exercise continues from the Setting Up Grading Standards (page 367)
tutorial.

Create feature lines from AutoCAD objects

NOTE This exercise uses Grading-1.dwg with the modifications you made in the
previous tutorial, or you can open Grading-2.dwg from the tutorial drawings folder
(page 759).

1 Click Home tab ➤ Draw panel ➤ Line. Draw a line from circle A to
B to C.

2 Click Home tab ➤ Create Design panel ➤ Feature Line

drop-down ➤ Create Feature Lines From Objects .

3 Click both lines, then right-click and click Enter to end the selection.
In the Create Feature Lines dialog box, notice that you can assign a name
to the feature lines as they are created. Naming significant feature lines
can make it easier to assign targets when creating a corridor. For this
exercise, you will assign names after the feature lines have been created.
Following this workflow enables you to create many feature lines at the
same time, but name only the most significant feature lines.

4 In the Create Feature Lines dialog box, click OK.


The lines are converted to feature lines and added to Site 1. You will
assign elevation values to these feature lines later in this exercise. Next,
you will draw a feature line and specify elevations along the line.

Name the feature lines

1 In the drawing, select feature lines AB and BC. Right-click. Click Apply
Feature Line Names.

2 In the Apply Feature Line Names dialog box, click .

3 In the Name Template dialog box, for Property Fields, select Next Counter.
Click Insert. Click OK.

Exercise 1: Creating Feature Lines | 373


4 In the Apply Feature Line Names dialog box, place the cursor at the
beginning of the Name field. Enter ABC.
The Name field should contain ABC <[Next Counter]>.
Click OK.

5 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, expand Sites ➤ Site 1. Select the


Feature Lines collection.
Notice that the two feature lines and their names are displayed in the
Prospector list view.
Next, you will draw a feature line and specify elevations along the line.

Draw a feature line

1 Click Home tab ➤ Create Design panel ➤ Feature Line


drop-down ➤ Create Feature Line .

2 In the Create Feature Lines dialog box, specify the following parameters:
■ Name Check Box: Selected

■ Name: CDEF <[Next Counter]>

■ Style Check Box: Selected

■ Style: Ditch

3 In the Create Feature Lines dialog box, click OK.

4 In the drawing window, snap to the end of the feature line inside circle
C. When prompted, enter 688.00 as the elevation.
You have entered a known value for the starting elevation. In the
following steps, you will use the transition command to defer entering
elevation values at intermediate points along the feature line.

5 Stretch the feature line and click inside circle D. When prompted for an
elevation, enter T.

6 Stretch the feature line and click inside circle E. When prompted for an
elevation, press Enter to accept Transition.

7 Stretch the feature line and click inside circle F. When prompted for a
transition, enter SU to use the elevation of the surface at that point.

8 Note the surface elevation shown at the command line. Press Enter twice
to accept the elevation and end the command.

374 | Chapter 10 Grading Tutorials


9 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, expand Sites ➤ Site 1. Select the
Feature Lines collection.
Notice that the three feature lines you created are displayed in the list
view. You can use this box to edit the feature lines’ name, style, and layer,
and view other properties of all the feature lines.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Assigning Feature Line Elevations


(page 375).

Exercise 2: Assigning Feature Line Elevations


In this exercise, you will assign elevations to the feature lines you created from
AutoCAD lines in the previous exercise.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Editing Feature
Lines.
This exercise continues from Exercise 1: Creating Feature Lines (page 372).

Edit feature line elevations

NOTE This exercise uses Grading-2.dwg with the modifications you made in the
previous exercise.

1 Click Modify tab ➤ Edit Elevations panel ➤ Elevation Editor .

2 Click the feature line that stretches from circles C, D, E, to F.


In the Grading Elevation Editor, you see the length of each segment and
elevations at each vertex. Notice that as you specified in Exercise 1:
Creating Feature Lines (page 372), the elevation of the first point is 688.000
and the elevation of the last point matches the elevation of the surface.
The elevation values of the two intermediate points are automatically
interpolated based on the beginning and end-point values. You can use
this table to edit the elevation and grade values. Now you will assign
elevation values to line AB.

3 Click , and then click the feature line between circles A and B. The
Grading Elevation Editor now displays the elevations along the feature
line between circles A and B.

4 Double-click the elevation value for the starting station (0+00.00), and
change it to 630.00’. This value puts it a few feet below the surface.
Change the elevation of the end point to 690.00’.

Exercise 2: Assigning Feature Line Elevations | 375


In the next few steps, you will insert an elevation point on the feature
line.

Insert an elevation point on a feature line

1 In the Grading Elevation Editor, click (Insert Elevation Point).


On feature line AB, you see a small circle and a tooltip that shows the
station value and elevation of the point. You can use the cursor to move
this point to a new location.

2 Move the point to a location near the middle of the feature line, then
click.

3 In the Insert PVI dialog box, optionally move the elevation point to a
specific station. Click OK.
The point is added to the table in the Grading Elevation Editor, where
you can edit the station, elevation, grade, and length (distance between
points).

4 Click feature line AB.


Editing grips are displayed for the endpoints and elevation point. You
can click the elevation point and slide it along the feature line. You can
also click one of the endpoints and move it to a new location. When you
do any grip editing, values in the Grading Elevation Editor update.

5 Move the cursor over the surface near the elevation point to see the
surface elevation displayed.

6 In the Grading Elevation Editor, set the elevation point to an elevation


that is at or below the surrounding surface.
In the next few steps, you will drape feature line BC across the existing
ground surface. This command assigns an elevation to each vertex of the
feature line.

376 | Chapter 10 Grading Tutorials


Drape a feature line on a surface

1 If necessary, press Esc once or twice to deselect feature line AB.

2 Click Modify tab ➤ Edit Elevations panel ➤ Elevations From Surface.

3 In the Set Elevations From Surface dialog box, click OK.

4 Click feature line BC, then right-click and click Enter to end the
command.

5 Click feature line BC again. An elevation point has been added wherever
the line crosses the edge of a triangle in the TIN surface.

6 Right click and click Elevation Editor.


The Elevation Editor displays data for each elevation point along feature
line BC, including its elevation, and the distance and grade to the next
point. A feature line on the surface like this can be a useful starting point
for a grading. You can use controls along the top of the Grading Elevation
Editor to add and delete elevation points, and to adjust their elevations.
You can select multiple points within the table for group operations, such
as raising or lowering them the same amount, or “flattening” their
elevations to the same value.

7 Click to close the Grading Elevation Editor.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 3: Creating a Grading (page 377).

Exercise 3: Creating a Grading


In this exercise, you will create a set of gradings, called a grading group, that
form a runoff on the side of an embankment.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Creating Grading
from a Footprint.
This exercise continues from Exercise 2: Assigning Feature Line Elevations
(page 375).

Exercise 3: Creating a Grading | 377


Create a grading group and specify grading creation settings

NOTE This exercise uses Grading-2.dwg with the modifications you made in the
previous exercise, or you can open Grading-3.dwg from the tutorial drawings folder
(page 759).

1 Click Home tab ➤ Create Design panel ➤ Grading drop-down ➤ Grading


Creation Tools .

2 In the Grading Creation Tools toolbar, click Set The Grading Group.

3 In the Create Grading Group dialog box, specify the following parameters:
■ Name: Ditch Drainage

■ Automatic Surface Creation: Selected

■ Volume Base Surface: Selected

4 Click OK.

5 In the Create Surface dialog box, click OK.

6 In the Grading Creation Tools toolbar, click Select a Criteria Set.

7 Select Ditch Criteria Set from the list. Click OK.

8 In the Select A Grading Criteria list, ensure that Distance @ -6% is selected.

9 Click to expand the Grading Creation Tools toolbar.

10 In the Style list, select Ditch.

Create gradings

1 Click Create Grading. Click feature line AB.

2 In response to the command-line prompt, click above the feature line to


indicate where to apply the grading.

3 Press Enter (Yes) to apply the grading to the entire length of the feature
line.

4 Press Enter to accept the default distance (10 feet).

5 The grading is created. Ditch Drainage is added to the grading groups


collection in Site 1 on the Toolspace Prospector tab. This grading creates

378 | Chapter 10 Grading Tutorials


one side of a ditch, extending down from the baseline at a 6% grade for
a distance of 10 feet.

6 Press Enter to end the command.


In the next few steps, you will create another grading from the target line
of the first grading to the existing surface.

7 Set your display so that feature line AB fills most of the drawing window.

8 Click the Select a Grading Criteria list and click Surface @ 4-1 Slope.

9 Click Create Grading and click the red target line from the first grading
that you created.

10 Enter Yes to apply the grading to the entire length of the line.

11 Press Enter to accept the cut slope (4:1).

12 Press Enter to accept the fill slope (4:1).

13 Right-click to end the command.

The grading is created. This grading creates a 4:1 slope up from the bottom
of the ditch to the surface. Your results may differ from the illustration.

Exercise 3: Creating a Grading | 379


NOTE The Event Viewer might notify you that duplicate points have been
ignored. A surface was created from the two gradings, which share a common
feature, and therefore share point data. The daylight line of the first grading
is the baseline of the second grading. When the surface is created, the data
from the points was extracted for each grading. Because the point data is
duplicate, the data of one of the two instances of each point is ignored.

To continue to the next tutorial, go to Editing Gradings (page 380).

Tutorial: Editing Gradings


This tutorial demonstrates common grading editing tasks, including elevation
adjustment and grading criteria editing.
You use the Grading Elevation Editor to edit elevations along a baseline. A
baseline is a feature line or lot line that has had a grading applied to it. You
can modify the elevations of a lot line unless it is being used as a target for a
grading.
You can also insert a PVI (Point of Vertical Intersection) between the start and
end stations of the baseline, creating an intermediate elevation point.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Editing Grading.

Exercise 1: Editing the Grading Elevation


In this exercise, you will edit the elevation of a grading baseline. The grading
adjusts to reflect the elevation change.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Editing Grading
Criteria.

Edit feature line elevations

1 Open Grading-4.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759).
This drawing contains a rectangular building pad graded to the
surrounding surface at a 3:1 slope. Where the slope pattern is green, it is
a fill slope in which the grading slopes down from the pad to the surface.
Where the slope pattern is red, it is a cut slope in which the grading slopes
up from the pad.

2 Click Modify tab ➤ Edit Elevations panel ➤ Elevation Editor .

380 | Chapter 10 Grading Tutorials


3 In the drawing, select the baseline for the grading (rectangular line).

NOTE The surface style for the building pad grading has borders turned off,
making it easier to select the baseline. Otherwise, the surface border would
be on top of the baseline.

The Elevation Editor shows the following grading settings for each corner
of the feature line in a clockwise direction. The starting point is the upper
left corner.
■ Station — Distance from the start of the feature line.

■ Elevation — Elevation of the current point.

■ Length — Distance to the next point.

■ Grade Ahead — Grade toward the next point. Adjusting this setting
holds the elevation of the current point and adjust the elevation of
the next point for the new grade.

■ Grade Back — Grade from the previous point. Adjusting this setting
affects the elevation of the current point, holding the elevation of the
next point for the new grade.

Further exploration: Another way to review and edit the elevations of a


feature line is to click Modify tab ➤ Edit Elevations panel ➤ Elevation
Editor . A triangular marker is displayed at the starting point of the
feature line. Press Enter to move to the next point. You can edit data on
the command line.

4 In the Grading Elevation Editor, Shift+click the second and third rows
to select them.

5 Double-click the elevation value in one of the rows and change it to 730
feet.
Both of the selected rows’ elevation values change to 730 feet. Notice
that the shape of the grading and the Grade Ahead and Grade Back values
have changed to reflect the elevation change.

Edit feature line grades

1 Select the first three rows in the table. Click Flatten Grade or
Elevations.

2 In the Flatten dialog box, select Constant Grade. Click OK.

Exercise 1: Editing the Grading Elevation | 381


The first two points are set to the same grade, 2.693%, and the shape of
the grading changes in response to the elevation change. Flattening the
grade holds the elevation values of the first and last selected points and
modifies elevations of the points in between.

3 Click Show Grade Breaks Only.


The second station’s row is hidden, because there was no difference in
grade between it and the previous station.

4 In the first row, change the Grade Ahead value to -3.000%.

5 Click Show Grade Breaks Only.


Notice that the second station’s grade has changed to reflect the change
you made in step 4.

6 Click to close the Grading Elevation Editor.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Balancing Cut and Fill Volumes


(page 382).

Exercise 2: Balancing Cut and Fill Volumes


In this exercise, you will adjust the elevation of a building pad to balance the
cut and fill volumes.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Displaying and
Adjusting Surface Volumes.
This exercise continues from Exercise 1: Editing the Grading Elevation (page
380).

Balance cut and fill volumes

NOTE This exercise uses Grading-4.dwg with the modifications you made in the
previous exercise, or you can open Grading-5.dwg from the tutorial drawings folder
(page 759).

1 Click Analyze tab ➤ Volumes And Materials panel ➤ Grading Volume


Tools .
On the Grading Volume Tools toolbar, notice that the Group is set to
Building Pad, which is the only grading group in the drawing. The fields

382 | Chapter 10 Grading Tutorials


for Cut, Fill, and Net show that the grading as designed requires the net
cutting and removal of a large volume of surface material.

2 Click Raise the Grading Group to raise the building pad elevation by
one foot. Note the changes to cut and fill requirements.

Further exploration: You can also click Lower the Grading Group and
you can change the elevation increment to a value other than 1.0.

3 Click Automatically Raise/Lower to Balance the Volumes.

4 In the Auto-Balance Volumes dialog box, leave the Required Volume set
to 0, or change the value if you wish. Click OK.
The elevation of the building pad is adjusted to bring the Net amount as
close as possible to the set value.

5 Click (Expand the Grading Volume Tools). The history of your


elevation changes and their effects is displayed.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 3: Editing the Grading Criteria (page


383).

Exercise 3: Editing the Grading Criteria


In this exercise, you will edit a grading criteria and an associated grading
adjusts to reflect the criteria change.
You will edit grading criteria attribute values in two ways:

■ In the Elevation Editor dialog box. Using this method updates the grading
criteria for only the currently selected grading object.

■ Directly in the Grading Criteria settings. Using this method will apply the
attribute changes to future grading objects created with the criteria. If the
attribute value is locked, attribute changes will also be applied to grading
objects that currently use the criteria.

For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Editing Grading
Criteria.
This exercise continues from Exercise 2: Balancing Cut and Fill Volumes (page
382).

Exercise 3: Editing the Grading Criteria | 383


This exercise uses the drawing Grading-3A.dwg, which contains two grading
groups that use the same grading criteria.

Edit the grading criteria

1 Open Grading-3A.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759).

2 Click Grading tab ➤ Modify panel ➤ Grading Editor .

3 Click inside the grading that projects from feature line AB.

4 In the Grading Editor Panorama, change the distance value to 5.0000.


Notice that grading AB updates to reflect the change. Now, you will make
a similar change that will affect all grading groups using the Distance @
-6% grading criteria.

5 In Toolspace, on the Settings tab, expand Grading ➤ Grading Criteria


Sets ➤ Ditch Criteria Set.

6 Right-click Distance @ -6%. Click Edit.

7 In the Grading Criteria dialog box, click the Criteria tab. Change the

Distance parameter to 20 and click . This locks the attribute value,


which will apply it to all grading objects that currently use the Distance
@ -6% grading criteria. Leaving the value unlocked applies the value to
only grading objects that are created in the future.

8 Click OK.
The AB and BC grading objects are both updated in the drawing to
account for the new criteria value.

To continue to the next tutorial, go to Grading from a Complex Building


Footprint (page 384).

Tutorial: Grading from a Complex Building


Footprint
This tutorial demonstrates how to grade around a building footprint that has
relatively complicated geometry and variations in elevation.
The drawing used in this tutorial contains a surface and a building pad that
consists of two tiers connected by a small ramp. The elevation of the top
portion of the building pad is 402 feet, and the bottom portion is 400 feet.

384 | Chapter 10 Grading Tutorials


Projection grading, also known as slope grading, involves projecting a slope
from a feature line to a specified target. Projection grading targets include an
intersection with a surface, or a specified distance, elevation, or elevation
difference. The ramp that connects the two tiers consists of arcs and inside
corners, both of which complicate a grading plan. Simply applying projection
grading, which was demonstrated in the Creating a Grading exercise (page
377), would result in a grading that overlaps itself.
In this tutorial, you will learn how to create a successful grading solution for
similarly complicated scenarios. After you have completed this tutorial, proceed
to the Using Feature Lines to Modify a Grading tutorial (page 392) to learn how
to modify the grading solution, using the AutoCAD Civil 3D feature line
editing tools.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Creating Grading.

Exercise 1: Simplifying a Building Footprint


In this exercise, you will use the feature line stepped offset command to
generate a simplified footprint from which to grade.
The drawing you will use in this tutorial displays a building pad in two
vertically arranged viewports. In the right viewport, the building pad is shown
in plan view. You will design the building pad in the right viewport. In the
left viewport, the building pad is displayed in model view. You will use this
viewport to see the status of the design as you work.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Editing Feature
Lines.

Exercise 1: Simplifying a Building Footprint | 385


Create a stepped offset feature line

1 Open Grading-6.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder (page


759).

2 On the command line, enter OffsetGapType. Enter 1 as the value.


The OffsetGapType variable controls how potential gaps between segments
are treated when closed polylines, such as the building pad feature line,
are offset. Setting this variable to 1 fills the gaps with filleted arc segments;
the radius of each arc segment is equal to the offset distance.

3 Click Home tab ➤ Create Design panel ➤ Feature Line


drop-down ➤ Create Feature Line From Stepped Offset .

4 On the command line, enter 1.5 as the offset distance.

5 In the right viewport, click the blue feature line representing the building
pad when prompted to select a feature line.

6 Click outside the building pad when prompted to specify the side to
offset.

7 At the command line, enter G to specify a grade value. Enter -1 as the


grade.

8 Press Enter to end the command.


The stepped offset feature line is displayed. Notice that in the left
viewport, on the left side of the ramp, the curve of the stepped offset
feature line is not well formed. Because it is an independent feature line,
you can use the feature line editing tools to refine the solution.

386 | Chapter 10 Grading Tutorials


Add fillets to the feature line

1 Click Modify tab ➤ Edit Geometry panel ➤ Fillet .

2 Click the offset feature line when prompted to select an object.

3 On the command line, enter R to specify a radius for the fillet. Enter
15.000 as the radius value.

4 On each side of the ramp, click a sharp inside corner of the offset feature
line.
When you move the cursor over the feature line, a green triangle
highlights the corners that can be filleted and a preview fillet is displayed.
See the following image for an example of a corner to click.

The fillet is applied to the feature line. In the left viewport, notice that
the fillet uses the elevations from the existing feature line and smoothly
interpolates the elevations along the length of the fillet.

Exercise 1: Simplifying a Building Footprint | 387


5 Press Enter twice to end the command.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Grading from a Building Footprint


to a Surface (page 388).

Exercise 2: Grading from a Building Footprint to a


Surface
In this exercise, you will grade from the simplified, offset footprint to the
existing ground surface.
The stepped offset feature line has much simpler geometry than the original
footprint. The simpler feature line geometry will result in a much simpler
grading than one created directly from the original footprint.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Creating Grading.
This exercise continues from Exercise 1: Simplifying a Building Footprint (page
385).

388 | Chapter 10 Grading Tutorials


Create a grading group and specify grading creation settings

NOTE This exercise uses Grading-6.dwg with the modifications you made in the
previous exercise.

1 Click Home tab ➤ Create Design panel ➤ Grading drop-down ➤ Grading


Creation Tools .

2 On the Grading Creation Tools toolbar, click Set The Grading Group.

3 In the Select Grading Group dialog box, under Site Name, ensure that
Grading - Building Pad site is selected.

4 Under Group Name, click Create A Grading Group.

5 In the Create Grading Group dialog box, for Name, enter Slope Grading
With Feature Lines.

6 Click OK twice.

7 On the Grading Creation Tools toolbar, click Set The Target Surface.

8 In the Select Surface dialog box, ensure that EG surface is selected. Click
OK.

9 On the Grading Creation Tools toolbar, click Select a Criteria Set.

10 In the Select A Criteria Set dialog box, ensure that Basic Set is selected.
Click OK.

11 From the Select a Grading Criteria list, select Grade To Surface.

Create a grading

1 Click Create Grading.

2 When prompted to select a feature, click the blue feature line that is offset
from the building pad.

3 When prompted to select the grading side, click outside the offset feature
line.

4 Press Enter to apply the grading to the entire length of the feature line.

5 Press Enter to accept the default Slope Cut Format.

Exercise 2: Grading from a Building Footprint to a Surface | 389


6 Press Enter to accept the default 2.00:1 Cut Slope.

7 Press Enter to accept the default Slope Fill Format.

8 Press Enter to accept the default 2.00:1 Fill Slope.

9 Press Enter to end the command.


The stepped offset feature line is graded to the EG surface. Notice that
while the cut and fill slopes are shown in red and green, there are still
open areas inside the grading group. In the next exercise, you will fill
these areas and apply appropriate grading styles.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 3: Filling Holes in a Grading (page


390).

Exercise 3: Filling Holes in a Grading


In this exercise, you will create infill gradings to fill in the open areas inside
the grading group.
An infill grading has no criteria applied to it. Any area bounded by feature lines
or lot lines that is not already a grading can be converted to an infill grading.
Using infill gradings to fill in holes in a grading group ensures correct contour
display and volume calculations.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Filling a Void
Area.
This exercise continues from Exercise 2: Grading from a Building Footprint
to a Surface (page 388).

390 | Chapter 10 Grading Tutorials


Create infill gradings

NOTE This exercise uses Grading-6.dwg with the modifications you made in the
previous exercise.

1 On the Grading Creation Tools toolbar, from the Select A Grading Criteria
list, select Grade To Distance.

NOTE Although an infill has no criteria, you select its grading style from an
existing criteria.

2 Click Expand The Toolbar.

3 From the Style list, select Shoulder.


This setting specifies the grading style to apply to the infill.

4 Click Create Infill.

5 Click in the area between the building footprint and the offset feature
line (near the right side of the ramp).
A diamond is displayed in that area, indicating that an infill has been
created. In the left viewport, notice that the infill grading fills the entire
area between the two blue feature lines.

6 On the Grading Creation Tools toolbar, from the Style list, select Pad.

7 Click inside the building footprint to create an infill using the Pad grading
style.

8 Press Enter to end the command.


In the left viewport, the gray area is the infill grading that represents the
shoulder. The gold area is the building pad infill grading. The green and
red areas are the grade-to-surface slope grading.

Exercise 3: Filling Holes in a Grading | 391


To continue to the next tutorial, go to Using Feature Lines to Modify a Grading
(page 392).

Tutorial: Using Feature Lines to Modify a Grading


This tutorial demonstrates how to use feature lines to control grading around
inside corners.
Feature line grading involves creating a set of feature lines to define the graded
region as surface breaklines, and then adjusting the elevation of key points
to control the shape of the surface. This technique is ideal for wide, fairly flat
areas, such as parking lots or building pads. It is also well suited to areas with
rapidly changing elevations or slopes where walls would normally be required
to grade successfully. You can manually add or remove feature lines and adjust
their location in three dimensions to achieve precise slope design. Using this
process, you can control water drainage or clean up difficult geometry in areas,
such as the intersection of two or more slopes.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Editing Feature
Lines.

Exercise 1: Smoothing Feature Line Arcs


In this exercise, you will adjust the tessellation of the arcs around the ramp,
which will result in a more accurate representation of the ramp.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Editing Feature
Lines.

392 | Chapter 10 Grading Tutorials


Modify feature line arc tessellation

NOTE This exercise uses Grading-6.dwg with the modifications you made in the
previous exercise, or you can open Grading-7.dwg from the tutorial drawings folder
(page 759).

1 Click the right viewport to make it active.

2 Click View tab ➤ Views panel ➤ ➤ Visual Styles drop-down ➤


3D Wireframe.
The grading triangulation is displayed in the 3D Wireframe visual style.
It is helpful to observe the triangles as you use the feature line to break
the surface.

3 Click Home tab ➤ Create Design panel ➤ Grading drop-down ➤ Grading


Creation Tools .

4 On the Grading Creation Tools toolbar, click Grading Group


Properties.

5 In the Grading Group Properties dialog box, on the Information tab,


select the Automatic Surface Creation check box.

6 In the Create Surface dialog box, click OK.


To adjust the arc tessellation, a surface must be created from the grading
group. This surface is temporary. You will delete it after you have adjusted
the arc tessellation.

7 In the Grading Group Properties dialog box, on the Information tab,


change the Tessellation Spacing setting to 1.000’. Click Apply.

8 Clear the Automatic Surface Creation check box. When asked if you want
to delete the Slope - Projection Grading surface, click Yes. Click OK.
Now that you have updated the arc tessellation, you must update the
grading infill areas to apply the new setting. The easiest way to update
the infill areas is by using the AutoCAD Move command.

9 On the command line, enter MOVE.

10 Click the original, interior feature line (the blue building pad). Press Enter.

11 Press Enter again to select the default Displacement selection.

12 Press Enter again to accept the default displacement of <0.0000, 0.0000,


0.0000>.

Exercise 1: Smoothing Feature Line Arcs | 393


In the left viewport, notice that the triangulation of the arcs along the
ramp has improved.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Adjusting Grading Triangulation


with a Feature Line (page 394).

Exercise 2: Adjusting Grading Triangulation with a


Feature Line
In this exercise, you will use a feature line to break a poorly triangulated
grading surface.
The triangles in the area on the right side of the ramp are steeper than desired.
These triangles can be corrected by creating a feature line to break the surface
in this area.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Editing Feature
Lines.
This exercise continues from Exercise 1: Smoothing Feature Line Arcs (page
392).

Use a feature line to adjust surface triangulation

NOTE This exercise uses Grading-7.dwg with the modifications you made in the
previous exercise.

1 Click Home tab ➤ Layers panel ➤ Layer drop-down. Next to the


C-TOPO-FEAT-CROSS layer, click .

2 Zoom in to the area to the right of the ramp.


Notice the polyline between the three circles labeled A, B, and C. You
can use the following steps on any polyline. However, this polyline is in
a specific location so that you will get the results described in this tutorial.

394 | Chapter 10 Grading Tutorials


3 Click Home tab ➤ Create Design panel ➤ Feature Line
drop-down ➤ Create Feature Lines From Objects .

4 Click the polyline between Circles A, B, and C. Press Enter.

5 In the Create Feature Lines dialog box, under Site Name, make sure that
Grading - Building Pad is selected.

6 Under Conversion Options, make sure that the Erase Existing Entities
and Assign Elevations check boxes are selected. Click OK.

7 In the Assign Elevations dialog box, select From Surface. Make sure that
the Insert Intermediate Grade Break Points check box is selected. Click
OK.

TIP To reduce processing time when working with larger grading groups,
clear the Insert Intermediate Grade Break Points check box. This option adds
an elevation point at each point at which the feature line crosses a triangle.

The polyline is converted to a feature line and breaks the triangulation


along the right side of the ramp. The new triangulation creates a more
gradual slope in the infill area.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 3: Working with Crossing Feature


Lines (page 395).

Exercise 3: Working with Crossing Feature Lines


In this exercise, you will learn how feature lines interact when they cross each
other at and between vertices.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Editing Feature
Lines.
This exercise continues from Exercise 2: Adjusting Grading Triangulation with
a Feature Line (page 394).

Exercise 3: Working with Crossing Feature Lines | 395


To work with crossing feature lines

NOTE This exercise uses Grading-7.dwg with the modifications you made in the
previous exercise, or you can open Grading-8.dwg from the tutorial drawings folder
(page 759).

1 In the right viewport, select feature line ABC. Right-click. Click Elevation
Editor.
The Grading Elevation Editor displays a list of the points of intersection

( PIs, or horizontal geometry points) and elevation change points (


vertical geometry points) along the feature line.

Notice that the icon is displayed in the first row. This icon indicates
that the building pad feature line also has a PI at this point. When two
feature lines cross at a common vertex, both vertices must share the same
elevation value. The elevation for both feature lines at this point is
determined by whichever feature line was most recently edited. In the
following illustration, the common vertex is in Circle A.

2 In the Grading Elevation Editor click Unselect All Rows. Click


Flatten Grade Or Elevations.

3 In the Flatten dialog box, select Constant Grade. Click OK.


Notice that in the Grading Elevation Editor, the Grade Ahead and Grade
Back values are updated to a consistent value. When you flatten a feature
line, the points between the start elevation and the end elevation are set

396 | Chapter 10 Grading Tutorials


to the same grade, effectively eliminating the grade breaks. You may
flatten either the entire feature line, or a selection of points.

4 In the row, in the Elevation column, change the elevation value to


402.00’.

5 In the Grading Elevation Editor, click Select A Feature Line, Parcel


Line, Or Survey Figure.

6 In the drawing window, click the building pad feature line.


The elevation points of the building pad are now displayed in the Grading
Elevation Editor.

7 Locate the row containing the icon.


Notice that the value in the Elevation column is 402.000’, which is the
same value you entered for the other feature line in step 4. Change the
Elevation value to 405.000’.
In the left viewport, notice that the value you entered for the shared
vertex updated the elevation of both feature lines. As you see in the
following image, the new common feature line elevation affected the
infill gradings of both the ramp and gray infill area. When two feature
lines share a vertex, the elevation of both feature lines at that vertex is
determined by whichever of the feature lines was most recently edited.

Exercise 3: Working with Crossing Feature Lines | 397


8 In the Grading Elevation Editor, in the row, change the Elevation
value to 400.00’.

9 In the right viewport, select feature line ABC. Using the grip inside Circle
A, move the beginning point of the feature line toward the lower left of
Circle A.

NOTE You may need to hover over the feature line, and then use
Shift+spacebar to select the feature line.

10 Right-click the feature line. Select Elevation Editor.

In the Grading Elevation Editor, the icon indicates the point at which
the feature line crosses the building pad. The white triangle indicates a
split point, which is created when two feature lines cross at a location
where neither one has a PI. Much like a shared vertex point, a split
point acquires the elevation of the feature line that was most recently
edited. If the other feature line has a different elevation, it gets a grade
break at the crossing point.
Unlike a shared vertex, there is not an actual point at a split point, so
you cannot directly edit the elevation. When you edit one of the feature
lines, its grade runs straight through the intersection, forcing the other
feature line to break at the split point. You can use the Insert PI command
to create a permanent point at that location on one of the feature lines.
After you convert a split point to a permanent point, you can edit the
elevation of a split point directly, and have better control over that point.

11 Select the grip at the beginning point of the feature line. On the command
line, enter END to apply an endpoint OSNAP. Snap the feature line to
the building pad feature line.

Notice that an elevation change point with an elevation of 402.000’


was added in the second row. The change point was added because you
changed the elevation of the endpoint (the shared vertex) of this
feature line to 402.000’ in step 4. When you changed the elevation of
the shared vertex on the building pad feature line to 400.000’ in step 8,
the grade break point was created. The grade break point ensures that the
elevation of this feature line would match the elevation of the building
pad.

12 In the Grading Elevation Editor, click . Click Flatten Grade Or


Elevations.

398 | Chapter 10 Grading Tutorials


13 In the Flatten dialog box, select Constant Grade. Click OK.
The grade flattens, and the elevations updates to accommodate the new
grade.

Exercise 3: Working with Crossing Feature Lines | 399


400
Corridor Assembly
Tutorials 11
These tutorials will get you started working with the corridor assemblies, which create the
primary structure of AutoCAD Civil 3D corridor models.
The tutorials in this section demonstrate common tasks for working with corridor assemblies
for any application. You will learn how to build assemblies for specific types of corridors,
including divided highways and corridors with transition lanes, in the Corridors Tutorials
(page 437).
If you have not installed AutoCAD Civil 3D to the default location, you may receive messages
in the Event Viewer indicating that subassembly macro paths are not found. To avoid these
messages, it is recommended that you follow the exercises in the order presented.

NOTE All drawings used in these tutorials are available in the tutorial drawings folder (page
759). If you want to save your work from these tutorials, save the drawings to the My Civil
Tutorial Data folder (page 759) so that you do not overwrite the original drawings.

For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topics Understanding Assemblies and
Understanding Subassemblies.

Tutorial: Working with Assemblies


This tutorial demonstrates the basic tasks you will use to use AutoCAD Civil 3D
subassemblies to build corridor assemblies.
This tutorial demonstrates common tasks that you can apply when working
with corridor assemblies for any application. In the Corridors Tutorials (page
437), you will learn how to build assemblies for specific types of corridors,
including:

■ Assembly with a transition lane (page 442)

401
■ Divided highway assembly (page 450)

For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Creating Assemblies.

Exercise 1: Creating an Assembly


In this exercise, you will use some of the subassemblies that are shipped with
AutoCAD Civil 3D to create an assembly for a basic crowned roadway with
travel lanes, curbs, gutters, sidewalks, and slopes to an existing surface.

NOTE The corridor assembly you build will be used to create a corridor model in
the Creating a Basic Corridor (page 437) tutorial.

For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Creating Assemblies.

Create an assembly baseline

1 Open Assembly-1a_M.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder


(page 759).

2 Click Home tab ➤ Create Design panel ➤ Assembly drop-down ➤ Create

Assembly .

3 In the Create Assembly dialog box, for name, enter Primary Road Full
Section. Click OK.

4 When the ‘Specify assembly baseline location’ prompt is displayed on


the command line, click in the rectangle under the profile views.
The viewport zooms to the assembly baseline, which looks like this:

Add a lane subassembly

1 If the Tool Palette containing the subassemblies is not visible, click Home

tab ➤ Palettes panel ➤ Tool Palettes .

402 | Chapter 11 Corridor Assembly Tutorials


2 In the tool palette, right-click the Tool Palettes control bar. Click Civil
3D - Metric.

3 Click the Lanes tab.

4 Click LaneOutsideSuper.

5 In the Properties palette, under ADVANCED, specify the following


parameters:
■ Side: Right

■ Width: 3.5

6 In the drawing, click the marker point on the assembly baseline.


The right lane subassembly is now attached to the assembly baseline.

Add a curb subassembly

1 In the Tool Palettes window, on the Curbs tab, click


UrbanCurbGutterGeneral.

2 In the drawing, click the marker point at the top-right edge of the travel
lane.

Exercise 1: Creating an Assembly | 403


NOTE If you attach the subassembly to the wrong marker, you can move it
to the correct location. Press Esc to exit subassembly placement mode. Select
the subassembly you wish to move. A blue grip is displayed when the
subassembly is selected. Select the grip, and then click the correct marker
point.

Add a sidewalk subassembly

1 In the Tool Palettes window, on the Basic tab, click Basic


Sidewalk.

2 In the Properties palette, under ADVANCED, specify the following


parameters:
■ Side: Right

■ Width: 0.5

■ Buffer Width 1: 1.5

■ Buffer Width 2: 1.5

3 In the drawing, click the marker point at the top, back of the curb.

404 | Chapter 11 Corridor Assembly Tutorials


Add a daylight subassembly

1 In the Tool Palettes window, on the Basic tab, click


BasicSideSlopeCutDitch.

2 In the Properties palette, under ADVANCED, specify the following


parameters:
■ Side: Right

■ Cut Slope: 2.000:1

■ Fill Slope: 4.000:1

3 In the drawing, click the marker point at the outside edge of the sidewalk
subassembly.

4 Press Esc.
This action ends the subassembly placement command.

Mirror the subassemblies to the left of the baseline

1 In the drawing, select the four subassemblies you added.

Exercise 1: Creating an Assembly | 405


2 Right click. Click Mirror.

3 Click the marker point on the assembly baseline.


The subassemblies are displayed on the left side of the assembly marker.
The Mirror command creates a mirror image of the selected subassemblies.
All the subassembly parameters, except for the Side parameter, are
retained.

NOTE The parameters of the mirrored subassemblies are not dynamically


linked. If you change a parameter value for a subassembly on one side of the
assembly baseline, the change will not be applied to the opposite side.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Modifying the Subassembly Name


Template (page 406).

Exercise 2: Modifying the Subassembly Name Template


In this exercise, you will specify a meaningful naming convention to apply
to subassemblies as they are created.

406 | Chapter 11 Corridor Assembly Tutorials


This default subassembly naming template specifies that subassemblies use
the subassembly name on the tool palette followed by a sequential number.
For example, if BasicLane subassemblies are placed on either side of the
assembly, they are named BasicLane- (1) and BasicLane - (2).
In this exercise, you will change the naming template so that assemblies will
include the side on which the subassembly is placed. For example, if BasicLane
subassemblies are placed on either side of the assembly, they are named
BasicLane- (Left) and BasicLane - (Right).
Performing this task makes it easy to manage assemblies and subassemblies
in complex drawings.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Understanding
Subassemblies.

Examine the default subassembly naming convention

1 Open Assembly_1b.dwg, which is available in the tutorial drawings folder


(page 759).
This drawing contains an assembly baseline that does not have any
subassemblies attached to it.

2 If the Tool Palette containing the subassemblies is not visible, click Home

tab ➤ Palettes panel ➤ Tool Palettes .

3 In the tool palette, right-click the Tool Palettes control bar. Click Civil
3D - Imperial

4 Click the Basic tab.

5 Click BasicLane.

6 In the Properties palette, under ADVANCED, set the Side to Right.

7 In the drawing, click the marker point on the assembly baseline.


The right lane subassembly is now attached to the assembly baseline.

8 In the Properties palette, under ADVANCED, set the Side to Left.

9 In the drawing, click the marker point on the assembly baseline.


The left lane subassembly is now attached to the assembly baseline.

10 Press Esc.

Exercise 2: Modifying the Subassembly Name Template | 407


11 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, select the Subassemblies collection.
In the Toolspace list view, notice that there are two BasicLane
subassemblies. Because this assembly has more than one of the same
subassembly, the sequential naming convention makes it difficult to
distinguish between them. You will correct this in the following steps.

Modify the subassembly name template

1 In Toolspace, on the Settings tab, right-click the Subassembly collection.


Click Edit Feature Settings.

2 In the Edit Feature Settings dialog box, expand Subassembly Name

Templates. In the Create From Macro row, click the Value cell. Click
.

3 In the Name Template dialog box, in the Name field, highlight the <[Next
Counter]> property.

4 In the Property Fields list, select Subassembly Side. Click Insert.


The Name field should contain the following formula:
<[Macro Short Name(CP)]> - (<[Subassembly Side]>)

TIP To display the subassembly name in the local language, use the
<[Subassembly Local Name]> property in place of the <[Macro Short
Name(CP)]> property.

5 Click OK twice.

Examine the updated subassembly naming convention

1 In the Tool Palettes window, click BasicCurbAndGutter.

2 In the Properties palette, under ADVANCED, set the Side to Right.

3 In the drawing, click the marker point at the top-right edge of the travel
lane.

408 | Chapter 11 Corridor Assembly Tutorials


NOTE If you attach the subassembly to the wrong marker, you can move it
to the correct location. Press Esc to exit subassembly placement mode. Select
the subassembly you wish to move. A blue grip is displayed when the
subassembly is selected. Select the grip, and then click the correct marker
point.

4 In the Properties palette, under ADVANCED, set the Side to Left.

5 In the drawing, click the marker point at the top-left edge of the travel
lane.

6 Press Esc.

7 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, select the Subassemblies collection.


In the Toolspace list view, notice that there are two new subassemblies,
BasicCurbAndGutter - (Left) and BasicCurbAndGutter - (Right). These
names are more specific than those of the BasicLane subassemblies.

NOTE The next exercise demonstrates more best practices for assembly and
subassembly naming in drawings that contain many corridor assemblies.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 3: Managing Assemblies and


Subassemblies (page 410).

Exercise 2: Modifying the Subassembly Name Template | 409


Exercise 3: Managing Assemblies and Subassemblies
In this exercise, you will apply some assembly and subassembly management
best practices to a drawing that contains multiple corridor assemblies.
The sample drawing contains several corridor assemblies. This exercise
demonstrates how to name and label the assemblies so that they will be easy
to manage.
In the sample drawing, several subassemblies are used multiple assemblies.
For example, the LaneOutsideSuper subassembly is used in several assemblies.
When they were created, the LaneOutsideSuper subassemblies all used the
same naming template and a sequential number was appended to each name.
Performing the tasks demonstrated in this exercise will make it easy to manage
assemblies and subassemblies in complex drawings.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Understanding
Subassemblies.

Examine the assemblies

1 Open Assembly_1c.dwg, which is available in the tutorial drawings folder


(page 759).
This drawing contains several completed corridor assemblies. The
assemblies are designed to create an intersecting main and side road.

2 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, select the Assemblies collection.


In the Toolspace list view, notice that a specific name was assigned to
the assemblies when they were created. The names describe the type of
corridor, as well as the specific portion of the corridor to which they
apply.
In the drawing, notice that each assembly has a label that corresponds
to the assembly name. The labels are a simple AutoCAD MText
components that make it easy to see the construction of the available
assemblies.

3 On the command line, enter ZE.


The drawing zooms out to the drawing extents.

4 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, select the Main Road assembly.


Right-click. Click Zoom To.
The drawing zooms to the Main Road assembly.

410 | Chapter 11 Corridor Assembly Tutorials


Assign specific names to subassemblies

1 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, select the Subassemblies collection.


In the Toolspace list view, notice that there are multiple versions of several
subassemblies. For example, there are several BasicSideSlopeCutDitch -
(Right) and BasicSideSlopeCutDitch - (Left) subassemblies. In the following
steps, you will add the parent assembly name to each subassembly. The
more descriptive name will make it easier to determine the parent
assembly of each subassembly.

2 In the drawing, click the Main Road assembly baseline. Right-click. Click
Assembly Properties.

3 In the Assembly Properties dialog box, on the Construction tab, expand


the collections in the Item tree.
The subassemblies that comprise the assembly are displayed in the Item
tree. Notice that the subassemblies are categorized into groups.
Subassembly groups manage the order in which subassemblies are
processed during corridor modeling. The first time you add a subassembly
to an assembly, the subassembly is added to the first group. When you
add a second subassembly by attaching it to the first subassembly, the
second subassembly also gets added to the first subassembly group. The
next time you select an assembly baseline, a new subassembly group is
automatically created and subsequent subassemblies added to the assembly
are added that group.

4 In the Item tree, click the LaneOutsideSuper - (Right) (1) subassembly.


The subassembly parameters are displayed in the Input Values panel. You
can modify the parameters as necessary from this panel.

5 Click the LaneOutsideSuper - (Right) (1) subassembly again to highlight


the text.

6 Replace the LaneOutsideSuper - (Right) (1) text with LaneOutsideSuper


- (Right) Main Road. Press Enter.

7 Repeat Steps 4 through 6 to rename the other subassemblies:


■ UrbanCurbGutterValley1 - (Right) (1):UrbanCurbGutterValley1 -
(Right) Main Road

■ LinkWidthAndSlope - (Right) (1): LinkWidthAndSlope - (Right) Main


Road

■ BasicSideSlopeCutDitch - (Right) (1): BasicSideSlopeCutDitch - (Right)


Main Road

Exercise 3: Managing Assemblies and Subassemblies | 411


■ LaneOutsideSuper - (Left) (1): LaneOutsideSuper - (Left) Main Road

■ UrbanCurbGutterValley1 - (Left) (1): UrbanCurbGutterValley1 - (Left)


Main Road

■ LinkWidthAndSlope - (Left) (1): LinkWidthAndSlope - (Left) Main


Road

■ BasicSideSlopeCutDitch - (Left) (1): BasicSideSlopeCutDitch - (Left)


Main Road

8 Repeat Steps 4 through 6 to rename the subassembly groups:


■ Group - (1): Main Road Right

■ Group - (2): Main Road Left

9 Click OK.

10 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, select the Subassemblies collection.


Notice that the subassembly names you specified are displayed in the
Prospector list view.

Further exploration: Practice what you learned by renaming the subassemblies


in the remaining assemblies.
To continue to the next tutorial, go to Creating an Assembly with Conditions
(page 412).

Tutorial: Creating an Assembly with Conditions


This tutorial demonstrates how to use the ConditionalCutOrFill subassembly
to build a corridor assembly that applies different subassemblies depending
on the cut or fill condition at a given station.
Conditional subassemblies enable you to reduce the number of corridor regions
and assemblies to maintain.

412 | Chapter 11 Corridor Assembly Tutorials


For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Creating Assemblies
with Conditional Subassemblies.

Exercise 1: Examining the Existing Corridor in Section


In this exercise, you will examine how the daylight subassemblies are applied
to the corridor model in section. You will notice stations at which the current
daylighting parameters are inappropriate for the site conditions.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Viewing and Editing
Corridor Sections.

Examine the existing corridor

1 Open Assembly_2a.dwg, which is available in the tutorial drawings folder


(page 759).
The drawing contains two viewports. A completed corridor assembly is
displayed in the top viewport. A surface, corridor, and profile view are
displayed in the bottom viewport.

2 In the bottom viewport, select the corridor. Click Corridor tab ➤ Modify
panel ➤ Corridor Section Editor .

3 On the Section Editor tab, use the buttons to examine


how the Through Road assembly is applied to at the corridor stations.
The assembly creates a ditch on either side of the road. At the beginning
and end of the corridor, the cut and fill is relatively consistent on both
sides.

Exercise 1: Examining the Existing Corridor in Section | 413


In the following exercises, you will address two conditions:
■ First, the fill condition from stations 0+00 through 1+00 produces a
relatively deep fill on the left side. While the corridor assembly is
constructed appropriately for other regions of the corridor, you will
modify the design to use a different approach in this region.

■ Second, from stations 5+00 through 8+00, a much greater amount of


material must be cut from the left side of the corridor. While the
Through Road assembly is appropriate for most the corridor, it is not
ideal for these stations.

414 | Chapter 11 Corridor Assembly Tutorials


4 In the View/Edit Corridor Section Tools toolbar, click to return to
station 0+00.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Adding Conditional Subassemblies


to a Corridor Assembly (page 415).

Exercise 2: Adding Conditional Subassemblies to a


Corridor Assembly
In this exercise, you will add ConditionalCutOrFill subassemblies to an existing
corridor assembly.
You will specify two levels of ConditionalCutOrFill subassemblies. In the first
level, you will attach three ConditionalCutOrFill subassemblies to an existing
guardrail subassembly, and then add standard daylight subassemblies to them:

■ Cut: Add a ditch, and then daylight to surface at a 2:1 slope.

■ Fill < 5.0000’: Add a ditch, and then daylight to surface at a 8:1 slope.

■ Fill > 5.0000’: Add benching, and then daylight to surface at a 4.0:1 slope.

Exercise 2: Adding Conditional Subassemblies to a Corridor Assembly | 415


You will add a second level of ConditionalCutOrFill subassemblies to the ditch
subassembly that is applied in cut conditions:

■ Cut < 5.0000’: Daylight to the surface at a point that is 60’ from the
baseline.

■ Cut > 5.0000’: Add a 12.0’ daylight link at a -2.0% slope, and then add a
retaining wall.

■ Fill: Slope to surface at 4.0%.

This exercise continues from Exercise 1: Examining the Existing Corridor in


Section (page 413).

416 | Chapter 11 Corridor Assembly Tutorials


Add three conditional subassemblies

1 If the Tool Palette containing the subassemblies is not visible, click Home

tab ➤ Palettes panel ➤ Tool Palettes .

2 In the tool palette, right-click the Tool Palettes control bar. Click Civil
3D - Imperial.

3 Click the Conditional tab.

4 Click ConditionalCutOrFill.

5 In the Properties palette, specify the following parameters:


■ Side: Left

■ Layout Width: 20.0000’

■ Layout Grade: 4.000:1

■ Type: Fill

■ Minimum Distance: 0.0000’

■ Maximum Distance: 5.0000’

NOTE The Layout Width and Layout Grade parameters only affect the
appearance of the subassembly in layout view. These parameters enable you
to position the conditional subassembly and subassemblies that are attached
to it, but do not affect the corridor model.

6 In the drawing, in the top viewport, click the left guardrail to add the
ConditionalCutOrFill subassembly.

7 Add a second ConditionalCutOrFill subassembly to the left guardrail


using the following parameters:
■ Side: Left

Exercise 2: Adding Conditional Subassemblies to a Corridor Assembly | 417


■ Layout Width: 20.0000’

■ Layout Grade: 1.000:1

■ Type: Fill

■ Minimum Distance: 5.0001’

■ Maximum Distance: 10000.0000’

8 Add a third ConditionalCutOrFill subassembly to the left guardrail using


the following parameters:
■ Side: Left

■ Layout Width: 20.0000’

■ Layout Grade: 1.000:1

■ Type: Cut

■ Minimum Distance: 0.0000’

■ Maximum Distance: 10000.0000’

418 | Chapter 11 Corridor Assembly Tutorials


Add a daylight bench subassembly

1 Using the Daylight tool palette, add a DaylightBench


subassembly to the Fill 5.00 : 10000.00 conditional subassembly using
the following parameters:
■ Side: Left

■ Cut Slope: 4.000:1

■ Max Cut Height: 5.0000’

■ Fill Slope: 4.000:1

■ Max Fill Height: 5.0000’

■ Bench Width: 6.0000’

■ Bench Slope: -10.000%

2 Press Esc to exit subassembly placement mode.

Move and copy the original daylight subassembly

1 Select the original left ditch subassembly. Right-click. Click Move To.
Click the Fill 0.00 : 5.00 conditional subassembly.

2 Select the ditch subassembly that you just moved. Right-click. Click Copy
To. Click the Cut 0.00 : 10000.00 conditional subassembly.

Exercise 2: Adding Conditional Subassemblies to a Corridor Assembly | 419


When you are finished, the assembly should look like this:

Add a second level of conditional subassemblies

1 Using the Conditional tool palette, add a ConditionalCutOrFill


subassembly to the hinge point on the daylight basin subassembly for
the cut condition using the following parameters:
■ Side: Left

■ Layout Width: 12.0000’

■ Layout Grade: 0.500:1

■ Type: Cut

■ Minimum Distance: 5.0001’

■ Maximum Distance: 10000.0000’

420 | Chapter 11 Corridor Assembly Tutorials


2 Add a second ConditionalCutOrFill subassembly to the hinge point on
the daylight basin subassembly using the following parameters:
■ Side: Left

■ Layout Width: 12.0000’

■ Layout Grade: 1.000:1

■ Type: Cut

■ Minimum Distance: 0.0000’

■ Maximum Distance: 5.0000’

3 Add a third ConditionalCutOrFill subassembly to the hinge point on the


daylight basin subassembly using the following parameters:
■ Side: Left

■ Layout Width: 12.0000’

■ Layout Grade: 1.000:1

■ Type: Fill

■ Minimum Distance: 0.0000’

■ Maximum Distance: 10000.0000’

Exercise 2: Adding Conditional Subassemblies to a Corridor Assembly | 421


Add subassemblies to the second level

1 Using the Generic tool palette, add a LinkWidthAndSlope


subassembly to the Cut 5.00 : 10000.00 conditional subassembly using
the following parameters:
■ Side: Left

■ Width: 12.0000’

■ Slope: -2.000%

2 Using the Retaining Walls tool palette, add a RetainWallVertical


subassembly to the LinkWidthAndSlope subassembly using the default
parameters.

3 Using the Generic tool palette, add a LinkOffsetOnSurface


subassembly to the Cut 0.00 : 5.00 conditional subassembly using the
following parameters:
■ Offset From Baseline: -60.000’

■ Omit Link: No

422 | Chapter 11 Corridor Assembly Tutorials


4 Using the Generic tool palette, add a LinkSlopeToSurface
subassembly to the Fill 0.00 : 10000.00 conditional subassembly using
the following parameters:
■ Side: Left

■ Slope: 4.000%

■ Add Link In: Fill Only

NOTE The Fill 0.00 : 10000.00 conditional subassembly that is attached to


the cut branch of the assembly will be applied if the daylight basin
subassembly were to end in a fill condition.

5 Press Esc to exit subassembly placement mode.


When you are finished, the assembly should look like this:

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 3: Adjusting Conditional Subassembly


Properties (page 423).

Exercise 3: Adjusting Conditional Subassembly


Properties
In this exercise, you will adjust the properties of one of the subassemblies,
and then assign descriptive names to each of the subassemblies in the Through
Road assembly.

Exercise 3: Adjusting Conditional Subassembly Properties | 423


Give each subassembly a specific, meaningful name to make it easy to identify
when you are assigning targets. Meaningful names also help you identify
subassemblies in the Subassemblies collection in Prospector.
This exercise continues from Exercise 2: Adding Conditional Subassemblies
to a Corridor Assembly (page 415).

Omit the daylight link from the cut conditional subassemblies

NOTE This exercise uses Assembly-2a.dwg with the modifications you made in the
previous exercise, or you can open Assembly-2b.dwg from the tutorial drawings
folder (page 759).

1 In the top viewport, select the DaylightBasin subassembly that is attached


to the Cut 0.00 : 10000.00 conditional subassembly. Right-click. Click
Subassembly Properties.

2 In the Subassembly Properties dialog box, on the Parameters tab, for


Daylight Link, set the Default Input Value to Omit Daylight Link. Click
OK.
If you attach a ConditionalCutOrFill subassembly to a standard daylight
subassembly, omit the daylight link in the host subassembly. If the
daylight link is included in the host subassembly, then daylight links will
be created for both the host subassembly and the attached subassembly.

Rename the subassemblies

1 In the top viewport, select the red assembly marker. Right-click. Click
Assembly Properties.

2 In the Assembly Properties dialog box, click the Construction tab.


Notice that the subassemblies you added to the left side of the assembly
display the default names followed by the side to which they were added.
When you build a complex assembly, you should assign meaningful
names to the subassemblies so that you can easily identify them when
setting corridor targets. This is also a good practice when a drawing
contains multiple assemblies.
For more information, see the Managing Assemblies and Subassemblies
(page 410) exercise.
In the following steps, you will give the subassemblies more meaningful
names.

424 | Chapter 11 Corridor Assembly Tutorials


3 In the Item list, select the ConditionalCutOrFill - Left subassembly. Click
it again to highlight the text. Change the name to COND Fill 0-5 for
TR-L.
A descriptive naming convention helps to distinguish between the many
ConditionalCutOrFill subassemblies that are present:
■ COND: Conditional

■ Fill: The specified condition

■ 0-5: The minimum and maximum distance values

■ TR: The parent subassembly of the ConditionalCutOrFill subassembly


(TR = Through Road Left)

■ -L: The side of the baseline that the subassembly is on (L = Left)

4 Rename the other two ConditionalCutOrFill subassemblies to the


following names:
■ ConditionalCutOrFill - Left (1): COND Fill 5-10000 for TR-L

■ ConditionalCutOrFill - Left (2): COND Cut 0-10000 for TR-L

5 Rename the daylight subassemblies to reflect the cut or fill condition to


which they apply:
■ DaylightBench - Left: Daylight Bench (Fill) for TR-L

■ DaylightBasin - Left: Daylight Basin (Fill) for TR-L

■ DaylightBasin - Left: Daylight Basin (Cut) for TR-L

6 Name the second level of the subassemblies the following:

NOTE To save time, you may choose to skip this step. The sample drawing
listed in the next exercise has all the subassemblies named appropriately.

■ ConditionalCutOrFill - Left: COND Cut 0-10000 -- Cut 5-10000 for


TR-L

■ ConditionalCutOrFill - Left (3): COND Cut 0-10000 -- Cut 0-5 for TR-L

■ ConditionalCutOrFill - Left (4): COND Fill 0-10000 -- Cut 0-10000 for


TR-L

■ LinkWidthAndSlope - Left: Daylight Width Slope (Cut 0-10000 -- Cut


5-10000) for TR-L

Exercise 3: Adjusting Conditional Subassembly Properties | 425


■ RetainWallVertical - Left: Retaining Wall (Cut 0-10000 -- Cut 5-10000)
for TR-L

■ LinkOffsetOnSurface: Daylight Offset On Surface (Cut 0-10000 -- Cut


0-5) for TR-L

■ LinkSlopeToSurface - Left: Daylight Slope To Surface (Cut 0-10000 --


Fill 0-10000) for TR-L

7 Click OK.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 4: Rebuilding the Corridor and


Examining the Results (page 426).

Exercise 4: Rebuilding the Corridor and Examining the


Results
In this exercise, you will reset the corridor targets, rebuild the corridor, and
then examine how the conditional subassembly affects the corridor model.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Viewing and Editing
Corridor Sections.
This exercise continues from Exercise 3: Adjusting Conditional Subassembly
Properties (page 423).

Set targets and rebuild the corridor

1 Open Assembly_2c.dwg, which is available in the tutorial drawings folder


(page 759).
The drawing contains the corridor assembly that you designed in the
previous three exercises.

2 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, expand the Corridors collection.


Right-click Corridor - (1). Click Properties.

3 In the Corridor Properties dialog box, on the Parameters tab, click Set All
Targets.

4 In the Target Mapping dialog box, in the Object Name column, click
<Click Here To Set All>.

5 In the Pick A Surface dialog box, click Existing Ground.

6 Click OK three times to close the dialog boxes and rebuild the corridor.

426 | Chapter 11 Corridor Assembly Tutorials


Examine the rebuilt corridor

1 In the View/Edit Corridor Section Tools toolbar, click to return to


station 0+00.
At the first few stations, the corridor is in a relatively deep fill condition.
In Exercise 2: Adding Conditional Subassemblies to a Corridor Assembly
(page 415), you attached the DaylightBench subassembly to the Fill 5.00:
10000.00 conditional subassembly. The fill condition at this station is
greater than 5.0001’, so the DaylightBench subassembly is applied.

2 Click eight times to advance to station 2+00.


Starting at station 2+00, the corridor enters a cut condition. At this station,
the cut is less than 5.0000’, so the DaylightOffsetToSurface subassembly
is applied after the ditch.

3 Click again.
Starting at station 2+25, the cut condition is greater than 5.0001’. As you
specified, the DaylightWidthSlope and RetainWallVertical subassemblies
are applied after the ditch.

Exercise 4: Rebuilding the Corridor and Examining the Results | 427


4 Continue using the buttons to examine the cut and fill
conditions along the corridor.

Further exploration: Apply what you learned to the right-hand side of the
corridor assembly. Use different combinations of daylight subassemblies with
the ConditionalCutOrFill subassembly and examine the results.
To continue to the next tutorial, go to Saving and Sharing Corridor Assemblies
(page 428).

Tutorial: Saving and Sharing Corridor Assemblies


This tutorial demonstrates how to use AutoCAD Civil 3D to save commonly
used corridor assemblies, and then share them with other users.
You can create an unlimited number of corridor assemblies, with either the
subassemblies that are shipped with AutoCAD Civil 3D or custom
subassemblies that you have created. You can save assemblies to a tool palette
or catalog; either of these locations are convenient places to store commonly
used assemblies available for reuse. You can also publish a tool palette or
catalog to make it available for other users.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Sharing Assemblies.

Exercise 1: Saving Assemblies to a Tool Palette


In this exercise, you will create a tool palette, and then save the assemblies
that are included in the sample drawing.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Sharing Assemblies.

428 | Chapter 11 Corridor Assembly Tutorials


Create a tool palette

1 Open Assembly_3a.dwg, which is available in the tutorial drawings folder


(page 759).
This drawing contains an existing ground surface, and centerline
alignments and polylines that define a proposed 50-ft right-of-way.

2 If the Tool Palette containing the subassemblies is not visible, click Home

tab ➤ Palettes panel ➤ Tool Palettes .

3 In the tool palette, right-click the Tool Palettes control bar. Click Civil
3D - Imperial.

4 Right-click the Tool Palettes control bar. Click New Palette.


A new tool palette named New Palette is created.

5 Replace the New Palette name with Tutorial Assemblies.

Save assemblies to a tool palette

1 Zoom in to the assemblies on the right-hand side of the surface.

Exercise 1: Saving Assemblies to a Tool Palette | 429


2 On the Proposed Road assembly, select the baseline.

NOTE Do not use the grips to drag the baseline marker.

3 Click the bottom of the baseline marker. Drag the baseline onto the
Tutorial Assemblies tool palette.
The image and name of the assembly are displayed on the tool palette.

4 Repeat Steps 2 and 3 for the remaining three assemblies.

5 On the Tutorial Assemblies tool palette, right-click an empty area. Click


View Options.

6 In the View Options dialog box, move the Image Size slider to the right
to increase the size of the images on the tool palette. Click OK.

7 On the Tutorial Assemblies tool palette, hover the cursor over the Curb
Return Left (CR-L) assembly.
Notice that a tooltip is displayed. The tooltip text is automatically
generated from the description of the original assembly.

NOTE To see the original assembly description, right-click the assembly in


Toolspace on the Prospector tab. Select Properties. The description appears
in the Assembly Properties dialog box on the Information tab.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Copying Assemblies to a Tool


Catalog (page 430).

Exercise 2: Copying Assemblies to a Tool Catalog


In this exercise, you will create a tool palette within a new tool catalog, and
then add assemblies to it. After assemblies have been added to a tool catalog,
you can share the tool catalog with other users.

TIP You can also use this procedure to copy assemblies from the drawing directly
into a tool catalog.

For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Content Browser Help topics
Creating a New Tool Catalog and Adding a Tool Palette to a Tool Catalog.
This exercise continues from Exercise 1: Saving Assemblies to a Tool Palette
(page 428).

430 | Chapter 11 Corridor Assembly Tutorials


Create a tool catalog

1 Click View tab ➤ Palettes panel ➤ Content Browser .

2 In the Autodesk Content Browser 2010 window, click .

3 In the Add Catalog dialog box, select Create A New Catalog.

4 Replace the New Catalog text with Residential Assemblies (Tutorial).

5 Click Browse.

6 In the Browse For Folder dialog box, examine the file path.
This is the default location where custom tool catalogs are saved. You
will accept the default location for this tutorial.

7 Click OK twice.

8 In the Autodesk Content Browser 2010 window, right-click the Residential


Assemblies (Tutorial) catalog. Click Properties.

9 In the Catalog Properties dialog box, double-click the Image rectangle.

10 In the Select Image File dialog box, navigate to the tutorial folder (page
759). Select Assembly_catalog_image.png. Click Open.

11 In the Catalog Properties dialog box, click OK.


The image you selected is displayed in the Autodesk Content Browser
2010 window. Assigning an image to a tool catalog can make it easy to
identify the tool catalog contents.

Exercise 2: Copying Assemblies to a Tool Catalog | 431


Create a tool palette in a tool catalog

1 In the Autodesk Content Browser 2010 window, click the Residential


Assemblies (Tutorial) tool catalog.
The empty Residential Assemblies (Tutorial) tool catalog opens.

TIP To ensure that the Content Browser remains visible over the AutoCAD
Civil 3D window, right-click the Autodesk Content Browser 2010 title bar
and click Always On Top.

2 In the Autodesk Content Browser 2010 window, click .

3 In the Tool Palette Properties dialog box, specify the following parameters:
■ Name: 50-ft ROW Assemblies

■ Description: Corridor assemblies for residential subdivisions that


require a 50-ft right-of-way

4 Click OK.

Add assemblies to a tool palette in a tool catalog

1 In the Autodesk Content Browser 2010 window, double-click the 50-ft


ROW Assemblies tool palette.

2 In the AutoCAD Civil 3D window, click the Tutorial Assemblies tool


palette. Press Ctrl+A to select all the assemblies on the palette.

3 Drag the assemblies into the 50-ft ROW Assemblies tool palette in the
Residential Assemblies (Tutorial) tool catalog.

432 | Chapter 11 Corridor Assembly Tutorials


To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 3: Publishing a Tool Catalog (page
433).

Exercise 3: Publishing a Tool Catalog


In this exercise, you will publish an assembly tool catalog so that it can be
shared with other users.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Content Browser Help topic
Publishing Tool Catalogs.
This exercise continues from Exercise 2: Copying Assemblies to a Tool Catalog
(page 430).

1 In the Autodesk Content Browser 2010 window, click .

2 Right-click the Residential Assemblies (Tutorial) tool catalog. Click Publish


‘Residential Assemblies (Tutorial)’.

3 In the Publish Tool Catalog dialog box, on the Step 1 Of 4 page, select
Move It To A New Location. Click Next.

4 On the Step 2 Of 4 page, click . In the Move Catalog dialog box,


navigate to the My Civil Tutorial Data folder (page 759). Click Make New
Folder. Name the folder Assemblies Tutorial, and then click OK.
You can also specify a location on your company network. Publishing a
tool catalog to a network location will allow multiple users to link to the
tool catalog. If the tool catalog on the network changes, the users’ catalog
libraries will be automatically updated.

5 Click Next.

6 On the Step 3 Of 4 page, make sure that the dependant file path is the

same location that you specified in Step 4. If it is not, click to navigate


to the correct path. Make sure that both check boxes on this page are
selected.
Accepting the default options on this page will ensure that all the files
that go with the tool catalog will be maintained in one central location.

7 Click Next.

8 On the Step 4 Of 4 page, make sure Directly From The Location Provided
is selected.

Exercise 3: Publishing a Tool Catalog | 433


This is the location that you specified in Step 4. The check boxes at the
bottom of the page give you control over the interaction between the
users’ personal catalog libraries and the source tool catalog. Selecting the
first check box prevents users from making unauthorized changes to the
tool catalog. Selecting the second check box prevents the tool catalog
contents from refreshing when they are dragged and dropped into the
users’ workspace.

9 Click Finish.

10 Using Windows Explorer, navigate to the Assemblies Tutorial folder on the


Windows desktop.
The folder should contain the following files:
■ Images folder

■ Palettes folder

■ Residential Assemblies (Tutorial).atc

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 4: Installing a Tool Catalog (page 434).

Exercise 4: Installing a Tool Catalog


In this exercise, you will add an assembly tool catalog to your personal Content
Browser catalog library.
Before you install the tool catalog, you must remove the existing one that you
created earlier. This will enable you to see how users would install a tool catalog
that you created.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Content Browser Help topic
Adding an Existing Tool Catalog to Your Catalog Library.
This exercise continues from Exercise 3: Publishing a Tool Catalog (page 433).

Delete the existing catalog from your Content Browser library

1 In the Autodesk Content Browser 2010 window, right-click the Residential


Assemblies (Tutorial) catalog. Click Remove ‘Residential Assemblies
(Tutorial)’ From Library.

2 In the Delete Catalog dialog box, click Yes.

434 | Chapter 11 Corridor Assembly Tutorials


Install the tool catalog

1 In the Autodesk Content Browser 2010 window, click .

2 In the Add Catalog dialog box, select Add An Existing Catalog Or Web
Site. Click Browse.

3 In the Browse For Catalog Files dialog box, My Civil Tutorial Data folder
(page 759). Select Residential Assemblies (Tutorial).atc. Click Open.

4 In the Add Catalog dialog box, click OK.


A copy of the tool catalog is created in your personal catalog library.

5 Close Assembly_3a.dwg.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 5: Moving Assemblies from a Tool


Catalog to a Tool Palette or Drawing (page 435).

Exercise 5: Moving Assemblies from a Tool Catalog to a


Tool Palette or Drawing
In this exercise, you will move assemblies from a tool catalog into a new
drawing. Then, you will move a tool palette from Content Browser to the
current tool palette group.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Content Browser Help topic
Using Tool Catalog Items in AutoCAD Civil 3D.
This exercise continues from Exercise 4: Installing a Tool Catalog (page 434).

Move an assembly from Content Browser to a drawing

1 Click ➤ New.

2 In the Select Template dialog box, select _AutoCAD Civil 3D (Imperial)


NCS.dwt. Click Open.

3 In the Autodesk Content Browser 2010 window, open the Residential


Assemblies (Tutorial) ➤ 50-ft ROW Assemblies tool palette.

Exercise 5: Moving Assemblies from a Tool Catalog to a Tool Palette or Drawing | 435
4 Hover the cursor over the icon below the Proposed Road assembly
image.

Notice that the cursor changes to a .

5 Click and hold the icon. Drag the cursor into the drawing widow
and release the mouse button.

6 In an empty area in the drawing window, click to place the assembly.


Press Esc to exit subassembly placement mode.

7 In the drawing window, select the baseline of the new assembly.


Right-click. Click Assembly Properties.

8 In the Assembly Properties dialog box, on the Construction tab, notice


that the subassemblies that make up the assembly have retained the
naming convention that was specified in the original assembly. Click
Cancel.

Add a tool palette from Content Browser to the current tool palette group

1 In the Autodesk Content Browser 2010 window, click .

2 In the Catalog Library, click the Residential Assemblies (Tutorial) tool


catalog.

3 Hover the cursor over the icon next to the 50-ft ROW Assemblies
tool palette.

Notice that the cursor changes to a .

4 Click and hold the icon. Drag the cursor onto tool palette, and then
release the mouse button.
The 50-ft ROW Assemblies tool palette and its contents are displayed in
the current tool palette group.

436 | Chapter 11 Corridor Assembly Tutorials


Corridors Tutorials
12
These tutorials will get you started working with the corridor modeling tools, which are used
to design and generate complex roadway corridor models.
If you have not installed AutoCAD Civil 3D to the default location, you may receive messages
in the Event Viewer indicating that subassembly macro paths are not found. To avoid these
messages, it is recommended that you follow the exercises in the order presented.

NOTE All drawings used in these tutorials are available in the tutorial drawings folder (page
759). If you want to save your work from these tutorials, save the drawings to the My Civil
Tutorial Data folder (page 759) so that you do not overwrite the original drawings.

For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Understanding Corridor Modeling.

Tutorial: Creating a Basic Corridor Model


This tutorial demonstrates how to use AutoCAD Civil 3D objects to build a basic
corridor model.

NOTE This tutorial uses the corridor assembly that you built in the Creating an
Assembly (page 402) exercise.

A corridor model builds on and uses various AutoCAD Civil 3D objects and
data, including subassemblies, assemblies, alignments, surfaces, and profiles.
Corridor objects are created along one or more baseline alignments by placing
a 2D section (assembly) at incremental locations and creating matching slopes
that reach a surface model at each incremental location.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Creating Corridors.

437
Specify the dependent objects

1 Open Corridor-1A_M.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder


(page 759).

2 Click Home tab ➤ Create Design panel ➤ Corridor drop-down ➤ Create

Corridor .

3 When the ‘Select baseline alignment’ prompt is displayed, select the First
Street alignment.

4 When the ‘Select a profile’ prompt is displayed, select the blue, Finished
Grade Centerline - First Street profile.

438 | Chapter 12 Corridors Tutorials


(Profile view grid lines removed for clarity)

5 When the ‘Select an assembly’ prompt is displayed, select the Primary


Road Full Section assembly baseline.

Tutorial: Creating a Basic Corridor Model | 439


Specify the corridor parameters

1 In the Create Corridor dialog box, for Corridor Name, enter First Street.

2 In the RG-Primary Road Full Section - (1) row, in the End Station cell,
enter 0+440.00.

3 In the Frequency cell, click .

4 In the Frequency To Apply Assemblies dialog box, under Apply Assembly,


for Along Curves, enter 3.000. Click OK.

5 In the Create Corridor dialog box, click Set All Targets.


In the Target Mapping dialog box, you can map logical names in
subassemblies to actual objects in the drawing. For example, the
BasicSideSlopeCutDitch subassembly requires that a surface be specified
for calculating the daylight points.

6 In the table, in the Object Name column, click <Click Here To Set All>.

7 In the Pick A Surface dialog box, select surface EG.


This sets the daylight points for both the BasicSideSlopeCutDitch
subassemblies to the same surface.

440 | Chapter 12 Corridors Tutorials


8 Click OK three times.
The corridor model is built and looks like this:

To continue to the next tutorial, go to Creating a Corridor with a Transition


Lane (page 441).

Tutorial: Creating a Corridor with a Transition


Lane
This tutorial demonstrates how to create a corridor with a transition lane. The
tutorial uses some of the subassemblies that are shipped with AutoCAD Civil
3D to create an assembly. Then, you create a roadway where the travel lane
widths and slopes are controlled by offset alignments, profiles, polylines, and
feature lines.

Tutorial: Creating a Corridor with a Transition Lane | 441


For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Assemblies and
Subassemblies.

Exercise 1: Creating an Assembly with a Transition Lane


In this exercise, you will create a corridor assembly with transitions.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Creating Assemblies.

Create an assembly baseline

1 Open Corridor-2a.dwg, which is available in the tutorial drawings folder


(page 759).

2 Click Home tab ➤ Create Design panel ➤ Assembly drop-down ➤ Create


Assembly .

3 In the Create Assembly dialog box, for Name, enter Transition. Click OK.

4 When the ‘Specify assembly baseline location’ prompt is displayed on


the command line, click a point in the drawing to place the assembly.
The viewport zooms to the assembly baseline, which looks like this:

Add a lane subassembly

1 If the Tool Palette containing the subassemblies is not visible, click Home

tab ➤ Palettes panel ➤ Tool Palettes .

2 In the tool palette, right-click the Tool Palettes control bar. Click Civil
3D - Imperial.

3 Click the Basic tab.

4 Click BasicLaneTransition.

442 | Chapter 12 Corridors Tutorials


5 In the Properties palette, under ADVANCED, specify the following
parameters:
■ Side: Right

■ Default Width: 14.0000

■ Depth: 1.0000

■ Transition: Change Offset And Elevation

6 In the drawing, click the marker point on the assembly baseline.


A lane is drawn, extending 14 feet to the right, with a slope of -2% and
a depth of 1 foot.

Add a curb and gutter subassembly

1 In the tool palette, click BasicCurbAndGutter.

2 In the Properties palette, under ADVANCED, specify the following


parameters:
■ Side: Right

■ Gutter Width: 1.2500

3 In the drawing, click the marker point at the top-right edge of the lane
to draw the curb and gutter.

Add a sidewalk subassembly

1 In the tool palette, click BasicSidewalk.

2 In the Properties palette, under ADVANCED, specify the following


parameters:
■ Side: Right

■ Buffer Width 1: 2.0000

■ Buffer Width 2: 3.0000

3 In the drawing, click the marker point at the top back-side of the curb to
add the sidewalk and its buffer zones.

Exercise 1: Creating an Assembly with a Transition Lane | 443


Add a ditch subassembly

1 In the tool palette, click BasicSideSlopeCutDitch.

2 In the Properties palette, under ADVANCED, specify the following


parameters:
■ Side: Right

■ Cut Slope: 3.000:1

3 In the drawing, click the marker point at the outside edge of the outer
sidewalk buffer zone to add the cut-and-fill slope.

Add a transition lane subassembly

1 In the tool palette, click BasicLaneTransition.

2 In the Properties palette, under ADVANCED, specify the following


parameters:
■ Side: Left

■ Default Width: 12.0000

■ Depth: 1.0000

■ Transition: Hold Grade, Change Offset

3 In the drawing, click the marker point on the assembly baseline. A lane
is drawn, extending 12 feet to the left, with a slope of -2% and a depth
of 1 foot.

Mirror the subassemblies outside the right lane

1 Press Esc to exit subassembly placement mode.

2 In the drawing, on the right-hand side of the assembly, select the curb,
sidewalk, and daylight subassemblies. Right click. Click Mirror.

3 Click the marker point at the top-left edge of the transition lane to draw
a mirror of the curb, sidewalk, and daylight subassemblies.
The subassemblies are displayed on the left side of the assembly marker.

444 | Chapter 12 Corridors Tutorials


The Mirror command creates a mirror image of the selected subassemblies.
All the subassembly parameters, except for the Side parameter, are
retained.

NOTE The parameters of the mirrored subassemblies are not dynamically


linked. If you change a parameter value for a subassembly on one side of the
assembly baseline, the change will not be applied to the opposite side.

The finished assembly looks like this:

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Creating a Corridor with a Transition


Lane (page 445).

Exercise 2: Creating a Corridor with a Transition Lane


In this exercise, you will create a corridor using the assembly created in the
last exercise. You will target the width and elevation of the right lane edge to
a right alignment and profile, and the left lane edge to a polyline and a feature
line.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Creating Corridors.
This exercise continues from Exercise 1: Creating an Assembly with a Transition
Lane (page 442).

Specify the dependent objects

NOTE This exercise uses Corridor-2a.dwg from the previous exercise, or you can
open Corridor-2b.dwg from the tutorial drawings folder (page 759).

1 Click Home tab ➤ Create Design panel ➤ Corridor drop-down ➤ Create


Corridor .

2 When the ’Select baseline alignment’ prompt is displayed, press Enter.

Exercise 2: Creating a Corridor with a Transition Lane | 445


3 In the Select An Alignment dialog box, select Centerline (1). Click OK.

4 When the ‘Select a profile’ prompt is displayed, press Enter.

5 In the Select A Profile dialog box, select Layout (1). Click OK.

6 When the ‘Select an assembly’ prompt is displayed, press Enter.

7 In the Select An Assembly dialog box, select Transition. Click OK.


The Transition assembly includes the BasicLaneTransition subassembly,
which uses the Transition parameter to specify that both the offset and
elevation can change on the right side of the corridor. The offset can
change on the left side of the corridor but the grade is held at -2%.

8 In Create Corridor dialog box, for Corridor Name, enter Corridor -


Transition Lanes.

Specify the daylight surface targets

1 Click Set All Targets.

2 In the Target Mapping dialog box, in the Object Name column, click
<Click Here To Set All>.

3 In the Pick A Surface dialog box, select EG. Click OK.


This sets the daylight points for both the BasicSideSlopeCutDitch
subassemblies to the same surface.

Specify the fixed lane horizontal target

1 In the Transition Alignment row for BasicLaneTransition - (Right), click


the Object Name field.

2 In the Set Width Or Offset Target dialog box, specify the following
parameters:
■ Select Object Type To Target: Alignments

■ Select Alignments: Right (1)

3 Click Add. Click OK.

Specify the transition lane horizontal target

1 In the Transition Alignment row for BasicLaneTransition - (Left), click


the Object Name field.

446 | Chapter 12 Corridors Tutorials


2 In the Set Width Or Offset Target dialog box, in the Select Object Type
To Target list, select Feature Lines, Survey Figures And Polylines.

3 Click Select From Drawing.

4 In the drawing, on the left side of the alignment, select the blue polyline
and magenta feature line. Press Enter.

The entities are added to the table at the bottom of the Set Width Or
Offset Target dialog box.

5 Click OK.
Notice that because the subassembly names contain the assembly side,
it is easy to determine which assembly must target which offset object.
This naming convention is even more useful in road designs that contain
many alignments and subassemblies. For information on updating the
subassembly naming template, see the Modifying the Subassembly Name
Template (page 406) exercise.

Specify the transition lane elevation targets

1 In the Transition Profile row for BasicLaneTransition - (Right), click the


Object Name field.

Exercise 2: Creating a Corridor with a Transition Lane | 447


2 In the Set Slope Or Elevation Target dialog box, specify the following
parameters:
■ Select Object Type To Target: Profiles

■ Select An Alignment: Right (1)

■ Select Profiles: Layout (1)

3 Click Add. Click OK.


The right-side edge-of-pavement elevation is set to the Layout (1) profile.
The left-side edge-of-pavement elevation does not need to be set since
its elevation is determined by the grade setting.

4 Click OK twice.
The corridor model is built, and looks like this:

448 | Chapter 12 Corridors Tutorials


NOTE Notice that at station 7+50, the lane uses the polyline as a target, and
not the feature line. When more than one target object is found at a station,
the object that is closest to the corridor baseline is used as the target.

To continue to the next tutorial, go to Creating a Divided Highway Corridor


(page 449).

Tutorial: Creating a Divided Highway Corridor


This tutorial demonstrates how to create a divided highway corridor. The
tutorial uses some of the subassemblies that are shipped with AutoCAD Civil
3D to create a more complex and realistic highway model.
This highway has a depressed median with a flat bottom ditch and inside
paved shoulders, two travel lanes on each side of the median, and paved
outside shoulders. The total median width between inside
edges-of-traveled-ways is 44 feet. The highway may have at-grade intersections,
so the superelevation rotation point is set to be located at the design profile
grade above the centerline of the median ditch. This creates a single consistent
cross slope across the entire roadway in superelevated areas.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Creating Corridors.

Tutorial: Creating a Divided Highway Corridor | 449


Exercise 1: Viewing the Superelevation Properties of an
Alignment
In this exercise, you will view superelevation specifications that have already
been defined for an alignment.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Superelevation.

View superelevation properties in the Alignment Properties dialog box

1 Open Corridor-3a.dwg, which is available in the tutorial drawings folder


(page 759).

2 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, expand the Alignments collection.


Right-click Centerline (1). Click Properties.

3 In the Alignment Properties dialog box, click the Superelevation tab.


The superelevation properties have been defined for a 50 m.p.h. road
using AASHTO tables for a 6% maximum superelevation rate. The outside
shoulders have a normal crown slope of -5% and rotate upward to follow
the lane slope on the high side of superelevation. The slopes of the inside
shoulders are set to the algebraic opposite of the lanes on each side.

NOTE The superelevation specifications of an alignment can be automatically


validated against specified design criteria. For more information, see the
Designing an Alignment that Refers to Local Standards tutorial (page 239).

4 Click OK to close the Alignment Properties dialog box.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Creating a Divided Highway


Assembly (page 450).

Exercise 2: Creating a Divided Highway Assembly


In this exercise, you will create a fairly complex assembly with a depressed
median and separated lanes.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Creating Assemblies.
This exercise continues from Exercise 1: Viewing the Superelevation Properties
of an Alignment (page 450).

450 | Chapter 12 Corridors Tutorials


Create an assembly baseline

NOTE This exercise uses Corridor-3a.dwg with the modifications you made in the
previous exercise.

1 Click Home tab ➤ Create Design panel ➤ Assembly drop-down ➤ Create


Assembly .

2 In the Create Assembly dialog box, for Name, enter Divided Highway.
Click OK.

3 When the ‘Specify assembly baseline location’ prompt is displayed on


the command line, click a point in the drawing to build the assembly.
The viewport zooms to the assembly baseline, which looks like this:

Add a median subassembly

1 If the Tool Palette containing the subassemblies is not visible, click Home

tab ➤ Palettes panel ➤ Tool Palettes .

2 In the tool palette, right-click the Tool Palettes control bar. Click Civil
3D - Imperial.

3 Click the Medians tab.

4 Right-click MedianDepressedShoulderExt. Click Help. Review


the diagram to better understand the subassembly.

5 Click MedianDepressedShoulderExt.

6 In the Properties palette, under ADVANCED, specify the following


parameters:
■ Centerline Pivot: Pivot about centerline

■ Left Median Width: 22.0000

Exercise 2: Creating a Divided Highway Assembly | 451


■ Right Median Width: 22.0000

7 In the drawing, click the marker point on the assembly baseline. A


depressed median and inside shoulders are drawn.

Add a lane subassembly

1 In the drawing, pan to the left edge of the MedianDepressedShoulderExt


subassembly. Zoom in so that each marker point can be seen distinctly.

2 In the tool palette, click the Lanes tab.

3 Click LaneOutsideSuper.
This subassembly inserts a travel lane that follows the outside lane
superelevation slope for the superelevation properties of the alignment.

4 In the Properties palette, under ADVANCED, specify the following


parameters:
■ Side: Left

■ Width: 24.0000

5 In the drawing, click the marker that is at the top left edge of the median
to insert the lane:

452 | Chapter 12 Corridors Tutorials


Add a shoulder subassembly

1 In the drawing, pan to the left side of the LaneOutsideSuper subassembly.

2 In the tool palette, click the Shoulders tab.

3 Click ShoulderExtendSubbase.

4 In the Properties palette, under ADVANCED, specify the following


parameters:
■ Side: Left

■ Use Superelevation Slope: Outside Shoulder Slope

■ Subbase - Use Superelevation: Outside Shoulder Slope

This sets these slopes to the outside shoulder superelevation slope. For
more information, see the subassembly help.

5 In the drawing, click the marker point at the top outside edge-of-lane on
finish grade to add the paved shoulder.

Exercise 2: Creating a Divided Highway Assembly | 453


Add a daylight subassembly

1 In the drawing, pan to the left side of the ShoulderExtendSubbase.

2 In the tool palette, click the Daylight tab.

3 Right-click DaylightStandard. Click Help. Review the diagram and


Behavior section to better understand the cut and fill daylighting
behaviors.

4 In the tool palette, click DaylightStandard.

5 In the drawing, click the marker point at the outside edge of the
ShoulderExtendSubbase subassembly to add the daylight slopes for cut
and fill.

Mirror the subassemblies to the right side of the baseline

1 Press Esc to exit subassembly placement mode.

2 In the drawing, zoom out until you see the entire assembly. On the
left-hand side of the assembly, select the daylight, shoulder, and lane
subassemblies. Right click. Click Mirror.

3 Click the marker point at the top-right edge of the median subassembly
to draw a mirror of the daylight, shoulder, and lane subassemblies.
The Mirror command creates a mirror image of the selected subassemblies.
All the subassembly parameters, except for the Side parameter, are
retained.

NOTE The parameters of the mirrored subassemblies are not dynamically


linked. If you change a parameter value for a subassembly on one side of the
assembly baseline, the change will not be applied to the opposite side.

The finished assembly looks like this:

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 3: Creating a Divided Highway Corridor


(page 455).

454 | Chapter 12 Corridors Tutorials


Exercise 3: Creating a Divided Highway Corridor
In this exercise, you will create a divided highway corridor.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Creating Corridors.
This exercise continues from Exercise 2: Creating a Divided Highway Assembly
(page 450).

Specify the dependent objects

NOTE This exercise uses Corridor-3a.dwg from the previous exercise, or you can
open Corridor-3b.dwg from the tutorial drawings folder (page 759).

1 Click Home tab ➤ Create Design panel ➤ Corridor drop-down ➤ Create


Corridor .

2 When the ‘Select baseline alignment’ prompt is displayed, press Enter.

3 In the Select An Alignment dialog box, select Centerline (1). Click OK.

4 When the ‘Select a profile’ prompt is displayed, press Enter.

5 In the Select A Profile dialog box, select Layout (1). Click OK.

6 When the ‘Select an assembly’ prompt is displayed, press Enter.

7 In the Select An Assembly dialog box, select Divided Highway. Click OK.

Specify the daylight surface targets

1 In the Create Corridor dialog box, for Corridor Name, enter Divided
Highway.

2 Click Set All Targets.

3 In the Target Mapping dialog box, click <Click Here To Set All>.

4 In the Pick A Surface dialog box, select EG.

5 Click OK three times.

6 Zoom to the extents of the corridor model.


The corridor model is built, and looks like this:

Exercise 3: Creating a Divided Highway Corridor | 455


To continue to the next tutorial, go to Viewing and Editing Corridor Sections
(page 456).

Tutorial: Viewing and Editing Corridor Sections


This tutorial demonstrates how to edit a corridor in section.
You use the tools that are demonstrated in this exercise to edit the corridor
model. To plot corridor sections, you must create section views. See the Sections
Tutorials (page 515) for more information.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Viewing and Editing
Corridor Sections.

Exercise 1: Viewing Corridor Sections


In this exercise, you will view how a corridor assembly is applied at various
stations along the baseline alignment.

456 | Chapter 12 Corridors Tutorials


The view/edit corridor section tools are useful for inspecting how the corridor
assemblies interact with other objects in the corridor model.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Viewing Corridor
Sections.

View a corridor in section

1 Open Corridor-4a.dwg, which is available in the tutorial drawings folder


(page 759).
The drawing contains an assembly, profile view, and corridor model.
Each object is displayed in a separate viewport. The viewport that contains
the assembly is active.

2 Click Modify tab ➤ Design panel ➤ Corridor ➤ Corridor tab ➤ Modify


panel ➤ Corridor Section Editor.

3 Press Enter. In the Select A Corridor dialog box, select Corridor - (1). Click
OK.

4 On the Section Editor tab, on the Station Selection panel, in the Select
A Station list, select 0+00.00.
A cross-section of the corridor at the starting station is displayed. The
elevations and offsets are displayed on the grid axes. The cross section
view contains the assembly, as well as the other adjacent objects.
At the current station, the offset alignments are represented by vertical
green lines, and the existing ground surface is represented by the
horizontal red line. The vertical red line in the center of the grid represents
the assembly baseline. Profile intersections with the baseline are indicated

by markers.

5 Use the View/Edit Corridor Section Tools to view the corridor sections
at each corridor station. Click Go To Previous Station and Go To
Next Station, or select stations from the Select A Station list.

Exercise 1: Viewing Corridor Sections | 457


Notice that as each station is displayed on the grid, its location in the
plan and profile viewports is identified by a perpendicular line.

Experiment with the zoom modes

1 Zoom in to the lane on the right-hand side of the assembly. Click Go


To Next Station.
Notice that the view zooms back out to the grid extents. There are three
zoom modes in the view/edit corridor section tools. These modes control
the behavior of the grid when you navigate to another station:

■ Zoom To Extents—View zooms out to the extents of the assembly,


plus the view scale factor. This is the default zoom mode.

■ Zoom To An Offset And Elevation—View remains zoomed in on


the current offset and elevation. As you navigate to other sections,
the current offset and elevation remains at the center of the viewport.

■ Zoom To A Subassembly—View remains zoomed in on a selected


subassembly. As you navigate to other sections, the selected
subassembly remains at the center of the viewport.

2 In the Select A Station list, select 3+00.00.

3 On the View Tools panel, click Zoom To Subassembly.

4 In the Pick Subassembly dialog box, select Daylight (Right). Click OK.
The view zooms in to the Daylight (Right) subassembly at station 3+00.00.
Notice the shape, elevation, and offset of the subassembly.

5 In the Select A Station list, select 9+00.00.


The view zooms in to the Daylight (Right) subassembly at station 9+00.00.
Notice that the shape, elevation, and offset of the subassembly is quite
different from station 3+00.00. The subassembly remains at the center
of the grid and at the same zoom factor as you navigate to other stations.

6 On the View Tools panel, click Zoom To An Offset And Elevation.

7 Click Go To Next Station several times.

458 | Chapter 12 Corridors Tutorials


Notice that the offset and elevation values that are displayed on the grid
axes do not change. The shape of the Daylight (Right) subassembly
changes to reflect how it ties in to the existing ground surface.

8 On the View Tools panel, click Zoom To Extents.

9 Click Go To Next Station.


The view zooms back out to the extents of the assembly.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Editing Corridor Sections (page 459).

Exercise 2: Editing Corridor Sections


In this exercise, you will edit the parameters at several corridor sections.
You will edit a section in two ways. First, you will modify a subassembly
parameter at a single station, which will override the subassembly settings for
that station only. Second, you will modify a subassembly parameter, and then
apply the modification to a range of stations.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Editing Corridor
Sections.
This exercise continues from Exercise 1: Viewing Corridor Sections (page 456).

Modify subassembly properties for a single station

NOTE This exercise uses Corridor-4a.dwg from the previous exercise.

1 On the Station Selection panel, in the Select A Station list, select 7+75.00.

2 On the View Tools panel, click Zoom To A Subassembly.

3 In the Pick Subassembly dialog box, select Lane (Right). Click OK.

4 On the Corridor Edit Tools panel, toolbar, click Parameter Editor.

5 In the Corridor Parameters dialog box, in the Assembly - (1) tree, under
Group - (1), expand Lane (Right).
Notice that identical values are displayed in the Design Value and Value
columns. The Design Value column displays the value that was specified
when the subassembly was added to the assembly. The Value column
displays the actual value of the subassembly at the current station. In the

Exercise 2: Editing Corridor Sections | 459


following steps, you will override the Design Value at the current station,
and then examine the results.

6 Change the Width Value to 36.0000’.


Notice that the Override check box is automatically selected, which
indicates that the Design Value has been overridden at this station.

7 Click Go To Next Station several times.


Notice that for the other stations, the Width Value is 24.000’. The lane
subassembly that is displayed in the section view updates in width to
reflect the width at the current station.

8 On the Station Selection panel, in the Select A Station list, select 7+75.00.

9 In the Corridor Parameters dialog box, in the Assembly - (1) tree, under
Group - (1), under Lane (Right), in the Width row, clear the Override
check box.
The Value column displays the same value as the Design Value column.

Modify subassembly properties for a range of stations

1 On the Station Selection panel, in the Select A Station list, select 4+50.00.
Notice that the road is in a shallow cut on one side and deep cut on the
other. The criteria set for the daylight subassembly caused it to use a 6:1
slope on the left side, and a 4:1 slope on the right side. Also notice the
superelevation transition of the road. At station 4+50.00, the lanes are
relatively flat.

2 On the Station Selection panel, in the Select A Station list, select 7+75.00.
Notice the superelevation transition at this station. Using the Centerline
Pivot option on the depressed median subassembly causes the lanes and
shoulders to superelevate about a point above the centerline ditch. A
straight edge laid against the lane surfaces would pass through the profile
grade point.

460 | Chapter 12 Corridors Tutorials


3 In the Corridor Parameters dialog box, in the Assembly - (1) tree, under
Group - (1), expand Median.
Notice that the Centerline Pivot? Design Value is set to Pivot About
Centerline.

4 In the Centerline Pivot? row, click the Value cell. Select Pivot About Inside
Edge-Of-Traveled-Way.

5 On the Corridor Edit Tools panel, click Apply To A Station Range.

6 In the Apply To A Range Of Stations dialog box, notice that Start Station
is 7+75.00, which is the current station. For End Station, enter 11+00.00.
Click OK.

7 On the Corridor Edit Tools panel, click Update Corridor to update


the corridor model.

8 View the corridor section at station 7+75.00.


Notice that the profile grade is held at the inside edges-of-traveled-ways
and the lanes and shoulders pivot about this point.

9 Click Go To Next Station to view the grade at subsequent stations.

Exercise 2: Editing Corridor Sections | 461


Notice that the change you made is visible through station 11+00.00. At
station 11+25.00, the Centerline Pivot? Value returns to Pivot About
Centerline.

To continue to the next tutorial, go to Viewing and Rendering a Corridor


(page 462).

Tutorial: Viewing and Rendering a Corridor


This tutorial demonstrates how to add surfaces to a corridor, create boundaries
on the surfaces, and then visualize the corridor using the AutoCAD rendering
tools.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Managing and
Editing Corridors.

Exercise 1: Creating Corridor Surfaces


In this exercise, you will create Top, Datum, Pave, and Median surfaces from
the corridor.
The Top surface tracks the finish grade of the roadway from the left daylight
point to the right daylight point on both paved and unpaved portions. This
surface is used for finish grade modeling.
The Datum surface tracks the finish grade on unpaved portions, and also the
subbase on paved portions, going from the left daylight point to the right
daylight point. This surface represents the grading elevations before pavement
materials are applied. This surface is used for calculating cut and fill quantities.
The Pave surface defines the finished pavement on both travel lanes in the
divided highway.
The Median surface defines the area between the travel lanes.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Creating and
Editing Corridor Surfaces.

Create a top corridor surface

1 Open Corridor-5a.dwg, which is available in the tutorial drawings folder


(page 759).

2 In the drawing, select the corridor. Right-click. Click Corridor Properties.

3 In the Corridor Properties dialog box, click the Surfaces tab.

462 | Chapter 12 Corridors Tutorials


4 Click Create A Corridor Surface to create an entry in the surfaces
table.

5 Change the surface name to Corridor - (1) Top.

6 Click the Surface Style cell for the Corridor - (1) Top surface.

7 In the Pick Corridor Surface Style dialog box, select Border & Contours.
Click OK.

8 Click the Render Material cell for the Corridor - (1) Top surface.

9 In the Pick Render Material dialog box, select Sitework.Paving - Surfacing.


Asphalt. Click OK.

10 Select the Corridor - (1) Top surface by clicking the icon next to its
name.

11 Change the Overhang Correction setting to Top Links.


This setting specifies that the surface will be built using the links along
the top of the assembly. This setting is especially critical when an assembly
has overlapping subassembly links that, if connected, would result in
errors in surface triangulation.

12 For Specify Code, select Top. Click Add Surface Item.


This action adds the corridor links with the Top code to this surface.

Create a datum corridor surface

➤ Repeat the previous procedure to create a Datum surface, using these


parameters:
■ Name: Corridor - (1) Datum

■ Surface Style: Hide Surface

■ Render Material: Sitework.Planting.Soil

■ Overhang Correction: Bottom Links

■ Link Code: Datum

Exercise 1: Creating Corridor Surfaces | 463


Create a pave corridor surface

➤ Create a Pave surface, using these parameters:


■ Name: Corridor - (1) Pave

■ Surface Style: Border & Contours

■ Render Material: Sitework.Paving - Surfacing Asphalt

■ Overhang Correction: Top Links

■ Link Code: Pave

Create a median corridor surface

➤ Create a Median surface, using these parameters:


■ Name: Corridor - (1) Median

■ Surface Style: Border & Contours

■ Render Material: Sitework.Planting.Gravel.Mixed

■ Overhang Correction: Top Links

■ Link Code: Gravel

Generate the surfaces and examine the results

1 Click OK to create the surfaces and close the Corridor Properties dialog
box.

2 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, expand the Surfaces collection.


Notice that the corridor surfaces you created have been added to the
Surfaces collection. You can work with a corridor surface the same way
you do with any surface in the Surfaces collection, including changing
its style, adding labels to it, and using it for surface analysis. The following
features and behaviors are unique to corridor surfaces:
■ When you select a corridor surface, only the surface is selected. The
corridor it is based on is not selected.

■ When you change the surface style of a corridor surface using its
surface properties, the style is also changed in the Corridor Properties
dialog box on the Surfaces tab.

464 | Chapter 12 Corridors Tutorials


■ When a corridor is rebuilt, corridor surfaces are updated to reflect any
changes in the corridor, and then any edits are applied to the corridor
model.

■ The corridor from which the surface was taken is listed in the surface
properties definition.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Creating Corridor Surface Boundaries


(page 465).

Exercise 2: Creating Corridor Surface Boundaries


In this exercise, you will use two different methods to define surface boundaries
for your corridor design.
Use corridor surface boundaries to prevent triangulation outside of the daylight
lines of a corridor surface. You may also use boundaries to either prevent an
area of a surface from being displayed or to render an area of the corridor
surface using a render material.
Corridor surfaces support the following types of boundaries:

■ Outside Boundary — Used to define the outer boundary of the corridor


surface.

■ Hide Boundary — Used as a mask to create void areas or punch holes in


the corridor surface. For example, a corridor might use a link code Paved
either side of the corridor with another surface (a median), separating
them. When you create a corridor surface using Paved as the data, AutoCAD
Civil 3D tries to connect the gap in between two link codes. To create
voids, you define boundaries to represent the surface appropriately.

■ Render Only — Used to represent different parts of corridor surface with


different materials (when rendering), for example, asphalt and grass.

NOTE A Corridor Extents As Outer Boundary command is available for corridors


that have multiple baselines, such as a corridor at an intersection.

For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Adding and Editing
Corridor Boundaries.
This exercise continues from Exercise 1: Creating Corridor Surfaces (page 462).

Exercise 2: Creating Corridor Surface Boundaries | 465


Create outside boundaries automatically

1 Open Corridor-5b.dwg, which is available in the tutorial drawings folder


(page 759).

2 In the drawing, select the corridor. Right-click. Click Corridor Properties.

TIP If you have difficulty selecting the corridor in the drawing, go to Toolspace
on the Prospector tab. Expand the Corridors collection. Right-click the corridor
name and select Properties.

3 In the Corridor Properties dialog box, click the Boundaries tab.


Four corridor surfaces are displayed in the boundary table.

4 Select the Corridor - (1) Top surface. Right-click. Click Add


Automatically ➤ Daylight.
This creates a boundary from the daylight lines that are generated from
the daylight point codes in the subassembly.

NOTE A Corridor Extents As Outer Boundary command is available for


corridors that have multiple baselines, such as a corridor at an intersection.

5 Select the Corridor - (1) Datum surface. Right-click. Click Add


Automatically ➤ Daylight.

6 For both boundaries, make sure the Use Type is set to Outside Boundary.
The daylight line in the corridor model is created at the points where the
design surface matches the existing ground on each side. By selecting
Outside Boundary, the surface will be clipped outside the boundary
formed by the left and right daylight lines.

7 Click OK.
The new boundaries are added to the Corridor - (1) Top and Corridor-
(1) Datum surfaces. The corridor model is regenerated and the surfaces
are rebuilt.
These surface boundaries are defined by a pair of feature lines. When
there are more than two of a given type of feature lines, then you must
use the interactive method to use them to define a boundary.
For example, you were able to automatically create a surface boundary
for the daylight region because there is a single pair of Daylight feature
lines that define the daylight edges of the corridor assembly.

466 | Chapter 12 Corridors Tutorials


By contrast, the assembly has two lanes, each of which are defined by its
own pair of EPS feature lines. In this case, you must define the boundary
interactively.

Create a pave outside boundary interactively


This boundary will define the outside edges of both lanes by using the lanes’
outer EPS feature lines. This will be an outside boundary to define the outside
edges of the Corridor - (1) Pave surface.

1 Click View tab ➤ Views panel ➤ Named Views.

2 In the View Manager dialog box, under Model Views, select


Corridor_Begin. Click Set Current. Click OK.
The drawing is redrawn to a zoomed-in view of the starting area of
Corridor (1).

3 In the drawing, select the corridor. Right-click. Click Corridor Properties.

4 In the Corridor Properties dialog box, on the Boundaries tab, select the
Corridor - (1) Pave surface. Right-click. Click Add Interactively.

5 In the drawing, select the feature line along the left-inside edge of the
paved shoulder within circle 3.

6 Since there are multiple feature lines at this location, the Select A Feature
Line dialog box is displayed. Select EPS. Click OK.

7 Pan to the other end of the corridor. Notice that a red line appears along
the first feature line you selected.

8 Select the feature line in circle 10.

9 In the Select A Feature Line dialog box, select EPS. Click OK.

10 Pan to the beginning of the corridor, and select the feature line along
right-inside edge of paved shoulder within circle 4.

11 On the command line, enter C to close the boundary.

12 In the Corridor Properties dialog box, expand the Corridor (1) – Pave
surface collection item to see the boundary item. Change the corridor
boundary name to Pave Outside and set its Use Type to Outside Boundary.

Exercise 2: Creating Corridor Surface Boundaries | 467


Create a hide boundary interactively
This boundary will define the inside edges of both lanes by using the lanes’
inner EPS feature lines. This will be a hide boundary and will act as a mask over
the median area of the Corridor - (1) Pave surface.

1 In the Corridor Properties dialog box, on the Boundaries tab, select the
Corridor - (1) Pave surface. Right-click. Click Add Interactively

2 Repeat the previous procedure to define the inside boundary of the paved
region:
■ Click in circle 1 and select EPS to define the left-outside edge of the
paved shoulder.

■ Click in circle 8 and select EPS to define the left-outside edge of the
paved shoulder.

■ Click in circle 2.

■ On the command line, enter C to close the boundary.

■ Change the name of the boundary to Pave Inside.

■ Change the Use Type to Hide Boundary.

Create a median outside boundary interactively


This boundary will define the outside edges of the median area using the lanes’
inner EPS feature lines. This will be an outside boundary to define the outside
edges of the Corridor - (1) Median surface.

1 In the Corridor Properties dialog box, on the Boundaries tab, select the
Corridor - (1) Median surface. Right-click and click Add Interactively

2 Define the outside boundary of the median:


■ Click in circle 1 and select EPS to define the left-outside edge of the
paved shoulder.

■ Click in circle 8 and select EPS to define the left-outside edge of the
paved shoulder.

■ Click in circle 2.

■ On the command line, enter C to close the boundary.

■ Change the name of the boundary to Median.

■ Change the Use Type to Outside Boundary.

468 | Chapter 12 Corridors Tutorials


3 Click OK to create the boundaries and close the Corridor Properties dialog
box.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 3: Visualizing a Corridor (page 469).

Exercise 3: Visualizing a Corridor


In this exercise, you will visualize the corridor using the rendering and
hatching features in AutoCAD Civil 3D.
Rendering a corridor requires that you assign an AutoCAD render material to
each of the appropriate subassembly links. Rendering produces a realistic
image of the corridor that is useful for on-screen presentations.
Applying hatching to a corridor requires that you apply a material area fill style
to each of the appropriate subassembly links. Hatching produces a less realistic
image of the surface than rendering, but hatching prints easily through
AutoCAD.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Rendering Corridor
Models.
This exercise continues from Exercise 2: Creating Corridor Surface Boundaries
(page 465).

Apply 3D render materials to a corridor

1 Open Corridor-5c.dwg, which is available in the tutorial drawings folder


(page 759).

2 In the drawing, select the corridor. Right-click. Click Corridor Properties.

TIP If you have difficulty selecting the corridor in the drawing, go to the
Toolspace Prospector tab. Expand the Corridors collection. Right-click the
corridor name and select Properties.

First, you will apply render materials to the corridor link codes.

3 In the Corridor Properties dialog box, click the Codes tab.

4 Under Code Set Style, make sure that All Codes is selected.
In the Render Material column, examine the materials that are set for
the links that are included in the subassemblies for the current corridor.

Exercise 3: Visualizing a Corridor | 469


These materials will be displayed on each link when you render the
corridor model:
■ Daylight_Cut: Sitework.Planting.Grass.Short

■ Daylight_Fill: Sitework.Planting.Grass.Short

■ Ditch: Sitework.Planting.Grass.Thick

■ Gravel: Sitework.Planting.Gravel.Mixed

■ Median: Sitework.Planting.Grass.Short

■ Pave: Sitework.Paving - Surfacing.Asphalt

■ Slope_Link: Sitework.Planting.Grass.Short

5 Click OK.

View the corridor in 3D

1 Click View tab ➤ Views panel ➤ Named Views.

2 In the View Manager dialog box, select the Corridor_3D View view. Click
Set Current. Click OK.
The drawing is redrawn to a three-dimensional view of the corridor.

Hide and render corridor surfaces

1 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, expand the Surfaces collection.

2 Right-click the Corridor - (1) Median surface. Click Surface Properties.

3 In the Surface Properties dialog box, on the Information tab, change the
Surface Style to Hide Surface. Click OK.
The Hide Surface style has all of its components turned off, which allows
the surface’s render material to be effectively ignored. The rendering
method used in this exercise applies render materials that are assigned
to the subassembly link codes, and not the surface itself.

4 Follow steps 2 and 3 to apply the Hide Surface style to the Corridor - (1)
Pave and Corridor - (1) Top surfaces.

NOTE The Corridor - (1) Datum surface already uses the Hide Surface style.

5 On the command line, enter RENDER to render the corridor in 3D using


the render materials that are applied to the subassembly links.

470 | Chapter 12 Corridors Tutorials


Next, you will view 2D hatch patterns on the corridor by applying shape
styles to the appropriate subassembly links.

Apply 2D hatching to the corridor model

1 Click View tab ➤ Views panel ➤ Named Views.

2 In the View Manager dialog box, select the Corridor_All view. Click Set
Current. Click OK.
The drawing is redrawn to plan view.

3 In the drawing, select the corridor. Right-click. Click Corridor Properties.

4 In the Corridor Properties dialog box, click the Codes tab.

5 Under Code Set Style, select All Codes With Hatching.


In the Material Area Fill Style column, notice that a fill has been applied
to each of the subassembly links that you examined in the previous

Exercise 3: Visualizing a Corridor | 471


procedure. However, notice that Slope_Link does not have a Material
Area Fill Style associated with it. In the next few steps, you will apply a
style by modifying the code set style.

6 Click Edit Current Selection.

NOTE You can also open the Code Set Style dialog box from Toolspace on
the Settings tab. Expand General ➤ Multipurpose Styles ➤ Code Set Styles.
Right-click the appropriate code set style and click Edit.

7 In the Code Set Style dialog box, in the Slope_Link row, set the Material
Area Fill Style to Strip Hatch.

8 Click OK twice.
The material area fill styles are applied to the 2D corridor model. Zoom
in on the beginning of the corridor to examine the hatch patterns.

472 | Chapter 12 Corridors Tutorials


Intersection Tutorials
13
These tutorials will get you started working with intersections.
An intersection object is created from two intersecting alignments that have design profiles.
During the intersection creation process, alignments and profiles are automatically generated
for the offset and curb return geometry. The horizontal and vertical geometry of the offsets
and curb returns is dynamically linked to the intersection object. When changes are made to
the centerline alignments or profiles, the offset and curb return geometry is automatically
updated.

NOTE All drawings used in these tutorials are available in the tutorial drawings folder (page
759). If you want to save your work from these tutorials, save the drawings to the My Civil
Tutorial Data folder (page 759) so that you do not overwrite the original drawings.

For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Understanding Intersections.

Tutorial: Creating Intersections


This tutorial demonstrates how to create several types of intersections.
You will create two basic types of intersections, which differ in how the
intersecting road crowns are blended:

■ In a peer road intersection, the crowns of both roads are maintained. The
primary road centerline profile is maintained, and a locked PVI is created
on the secondary road centerline profile where it intersects with the primary
road centerline. The pavement of both roads is blended into the curb returns.

■ In a primary road intersection, the primary road crown is maintained. The


primary road centerline profile is maintained, and a locked PVI is created
on the secondary road centerline profile where it intersects with the primary
road centerline. Two additional locked PVIs are created on the secondary
road centerline profile at the primary road edges of pavement. The primary

473
road cross-slope is maintained, and the secondary road pavement is blended
from the primary road edges of pavement along the secondary road
pavement edges.

You will also experiment with curb return widening parameters, which are
used to create turn lanes.
For information on adding widening regions to offset alignments that are
outside the intersection area, see the Adding a Widening to an Offset
Alignment (page 230) exercise.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Creating
Intersections.

Exercise 1: Creating a Peer Road Intersection


In this exercise, you will create a three-way intersection and generate a corridor
that maintains the crowns of both roads.
To create a complete intersection model, you must have a centerline alignment
and profile for each of the intersecting roads. The horizontal and vertical
geometry for the remaining elements, including the offsets and curb returns,
is generated based on the parameters you specify.
In a peer road intersection, the crowns of all intersecting roads are held at a
common grade. The pavement for both roads is blended into the curb return
regions, which form the transitions between the intersecting roads.
The drawing for this exercise contains a corridor along each of the intersecting
roads. Each corridor is made up of a corridor assembly and a centerline
alignment and profile.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Creating
Intersections.

Specify the intersection location

1 Open Intersection-Create-1_M.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings


folder (page 759).

2 Click Home tab ➤ Create Design panel ➤ Intersection.

3 In the drawing, click the intersection point of the two alignments.

474 | Chapter 13 Intersection Tutorials


Specify the corridor grade parameters

1 In the Create Intersection wizard, on the General page, under Intersection


Corridor Type, select All Crowns Maintained.

2 Click Next.

Specify the geometry of the offsets and curb returns

1 On the Geometry Details page, click Offset Parameters.


Default parameters are stored in the drawing settings. You can modify
the default parameters during the intersection creation process.

2 In the Offset Parameters dialog box, specify the following parameters:


■ Secondary Road ➤ Left Offset Alignment Definition ➤ Offset Value:
3.5000

■ Secondary Road ➤ Right Offset Alignment Definition ➤ Offset Value:


3.5000

■ Create New Offsets From Start To End Of Centerlines: Cleared

Exercise 1: Creating a Peer Road Intersection | 475


When this option is selected, offset alignments are created along the
entire length of the centerline alignment. This option is useful when
you need to use offset alignments and profiles as targets for other
objects, including other intersections along the same road.

3 Click OK.

4 On the Geometry Details page, click Curb Return Parameters.

5 In the Intersection Curb Return dialog box, under Curb Return Parameters,
specify the following parameters:
■ Curb Return Type: Circular Fillet

■ Radius: 7.5

NOTE In the drawing, temporary graphics highlight the currently selected


curb return.

6 Right-click Curb Return Parameters. Click Copy These To All Quadrants.


This command copies the curb return parameters to all intersection curb
return regions. The number of curb return regions is automatically
generated based on the existing horizontal geometry. For example, if this
was a four-way intersection, four curb return regions would be available.

7 Click OK.

8 In the Create Intersection wizard, under Offset And Curb Return Profiles,
make sure that Create Offset And Curb Return Profiles is selected.
To produce a complete corridor model of the intersection, it is necessary
to create profiles for the offset alignments and curb return alignments.
For this exercise, you will accept the default offset and curb return profile
settings.

9 Click Next.

Specify the corridor parameters

1 On the Corridor Regions page, specify the following options:


■ Create Corridors In The Intersection Area: Selected

■ Add To An Existing Corridor: Selected, Second Street

■ Select Surface To Daylight: EG

476 | Chapter 13 Intersection Tutorials


2 Under Select Assembly Set To Import, click Browse.

3 In the Select Assembly Set File dialog box, navigate to the tutorial folder
(page 759).

4 Select Intersection-Assembly-Set_All Crowns-M.xml. Click Open.


An assembly set enables you to quickly import a group of existing corridor
assemblies, and then apply them to specific section types.

5 Click Create Intersection.


The intersection is created, and new corridor regions are created in the
intersection area.

Examine the new objects

1 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, expand the Alignments collection.


Four alignments collections are available.

2 Under Alignments, expand the Centerline Alignments, Offset

Alignments, and Curb Return Alignments collections.

Exercise 1: Creating a Peer Road Intersection | 477


At the beginning of this exercise, only Centerline Alignments existed.
The Offset Alignments and Curb Return Alignments were created using
the parameters that you specified in the Create Intersection wizard.

NOTE In the drawing, the offset alignments and station labels are blue, and
the curb return alignments are red.

3 Under Offset Alignments, expand the First Street-Left-3.500 ➤

Profiles collection.
Layout profiles for the Offset Alignments and Curb Return Alignments
were created using the parameters that you specified in the Create
Intersection wizard.

Closing gaps in the corridor

1 In the drawing, select the corridor in the intersection area.


Slider grips are displayed at the start and end stations of the corridor
regions.

2 Click Corridor tab ➤ Modify panel ➤ Corridor Properties

drop-down ➤ Corridor Properties .

3 In the Corridor Properties dialog box, on the Parameters tab, under the
first BL - Second Street entry, in the RG - Second Street Full Section row,
for Start Station, enter 0+013.

4 Under the last BL - Second Street entry, right-click the first RG - Primary
Road Full Section entry. Click Insert Region Before.

5 In the Create Corridor Region dialog box, for Assembly, select Primary
Road Full Section. Click OK.

6 In the Target cell, click .

7 In the Target Mapping dialog box, under Object Name, click <Click Here
To Set All>.

8 In the Pick A Surface dialog box, select EG.

9 Click OK three times.


The Second Street corridor rebuilds, eliminating the gaps.

478 | Chapter 13 Intersection Tutorials


10 Select the First Street corridor. Select the grip at Station 0+440.
The grip turns red.

11 Drag the grip toward the intersection. Click to place the grip at the
beginning of the intersection.

12 Right-click the First Street corridor. Click Rebuild Corridor.


The corridor rebuilds, eliminating the gaps between it and the
intersection.

Exercise 1: Creating a Peer Road Intersection | 479


To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Creating a Primary Road Intersection
with Turn Lanes (page 480).

Exercise 2: Creating a Primary Road Intersection with


Turn Lanes
In this exercise, you will create an intersection with entry and exit turn lanes
at the primary road. The secondary road crown will blend into the primary
road edge of pavement.
You can use the workflow that is demonstrated in this exercise to create an
intersection with any combination of turn lanes at the curb returns.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Creating
Intersections.

Specify the intersection location and primary road

1 Open Intersection-Create-2.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings


folder (page 759).

480 | Chapter 13 Intersection Tutorials


2 Click Home tab ➤ Create Design panel ➤ Intersection.

3 In the drawing, click the intersection point of the Road A and Road B
alignments.

4 Click the Road A alignment to specify it as the primary road.

Exercise 2: Creating a Primary Road Intersection with Turn Lanes | 481


Specify the corridor grade parameters

1 In the Create Intersection wizard, on the General page, under Intersection


Corridor Type, select Primary Road Crown Maintained.

2 Click Next.

Specify the horizontal and vertical geometry parameters

1 On the Geometry Details page, click Offset Parameters.


Default horizontal and vertical geometry parameters are stored in the
drawing settings. You can modify the default parameters during the
intersection creation process.

2 In the Offset Parameters dialog box, specify the following parameters:


■ Primary Road ➤ Left Offset Alignment Definition ➤ Offset Value:
6.0000

■ Primary Road ➤ Right Offset Alignment Definition ➤ Offset Value:


6.0000

■ Secondary Road ➤ Left Offset Alignment Definition ➤ Offset Value:


3.0000

482 | Chapter 13 Intersection Tutorials


■ Secondary Road ➤ Right Offset Alignment Definition ➤ Offset Value:
3.0000

■ Create New Offsets From Start To End Of Centerlines: Selected

3 Click OK.

4 On the Geometry Details page, click Curb Return Parameters.


The default parameters for the first intersection quadrant are displayed
in the Intersection Curb Return Parameters dialog box. In the drawing,
the first quadrant is highlighted, and arrows indicate the direction of
incoming and outgoing traffic.

NOTE If you cannot see the temporary graphics, move the dialog box.

5 In the Intersection Curb Return dialog box, select the Widen Turn Lane
For Outgoing Road check box.
The Widening Details At Incoming Lane parameter collection is displayed
in the property tree. When you highlight a property, the preview graphic
at the bottom of the dialog box updates to illustrate the property in a
typical intersection. Examine the default values that have been specified
for this drawing, but do not change any of them.

6 Click Next.

Exercise 2: Creating a Primary Road Intersection with Turn Lanes | 483


7 For SE - Quadrant, select the Widen Turn Lane For Incoming Road check
box.

8 Click Next.

9 For SW - Quadrant, select the Widen Turn Lane For Outgoing Road check
box.

10 Click Next.

11 For NW - Quadrant, select the Widen Turn Lane For Incoming Road check
box.

12 Click OK.

13 In the Create Intersection wizard, make sure that the Create Offset And
Curb Return Profiles check box is selected.

14 Click Next.

Specify the corridor parameters

1 On the Corridor Regions page, specify the following options:


■ Create Corridors In The Intersection Area: Selected

■ Create A New Corridor: Selected

■ Select Surface To Daylight: Existing Ground

2 In the Select Assembly Set File dialog box, navigate to the Assemblies
folder (page 759).

3 Select _Autodesk (Metric) Assembly Sets.xml. Click Open.

4 Under Maintain Priority Road Crown, in the Curb Return Fillets row,

click .
You can use the Select An Assembly dialog box to substitute an assembly
with another assembly that is in the current drawing. To save your
changes as a new assembly set, click Save As Set on the Corridor Regions
page. For this exercise, you will accept the default assembly set.
For more information about managing corridor assemblies, see the
Corridor Assembly Tutorials (page 401).

5 Click Cancel.

6 Click Create Intersection.

484 | Chapter 13 Intersection Tutorials


The intersection is created, and new corridor regions are created in the
intersection area. Notice that the curb returns have widening regions to
allow traffic to exit from and merge onto Road A.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 3: Creating an Intersection with


Existing Geometry (page 485).

Exercise 3: Creating an Intersection with Existing


Geometry
In this exercise, you will use the existing offset alignments and profiles of the
primary road to create an intersection, and then add the new intersection to
the existing primary road corridor.
The workflow that is demonstrated in this exercise is useful when you need
to create several intersections along a single corridor. You define the offset
geometry for the primary road, and then reuse it for subsequent intersections.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Creating
Intersections.

Exercise 3: Creating an Intersection with Existing Geometry | 485


Specify the intersection location and primary road

1 Open Intersection-Create-3.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings


folder (page 759).
This drawing contains an intersection of two alignments, Road A and
Road C. Offset alignments exist on either side of Road A, and there is an
existing intersection north of Road C.

2 Click Home tab ➤ Create Design panel ➤ Intersection .

3 In the drawing, click the intersection point of the Road A and Road C
alignments.

4 Click the Road A alignment to specify it as the primary road.

486 | Chapter 13 Intersection Tutorials


Specify the corridor grade parameters

1 In the Create Intersection wizard, on the General page, under Intersection


Corridor Type, select Primary Road Crown Maintained.

2 Click Next.

Specify the horizontal and vertical geometry parameters

1 On the Geometry Details page, click Offset Parameters.

2 In the Offset Parameters dialog box, under Primary Road ➤ Left Offset
Alignment Definition, for Use An Existing Alignment, select Yes.

3 For Alignment Name, click .

4 In the Intersection Offset Alignment Name dialog box, click .

5 In the drawing, select the offset alignment on the left-hand side of the
Road A alignment.

Exercise 3: Creating an Intersection with Existing Geometry | 487


6 Click OK.

7 In the Intersection Offset Parameters dialog box, for Right Offset


Alignment Definition, repeat Steps 2 through 6 to assign the offset
alignment that is on the right-hand side of the Road A alignment.

488 | Chapter 13 Intersection Tutorials


8 Click OK.

9 On the Geometry Details page, click Curb Return Parameters.


The default parameters for the first intersection quadrant are displayed
in the Intersection Curb Return Parameters dialog box. In the drawing,
the first quadrant is highlighted, and arrows indicate the direction of
incoming and outgoing traffic.

Exercise 3: Creating an Intersection with Existing Geometry | 489


10 In the Intersection Curb Return dialog box, under Intersection Quadrant,
select SE - Quadrant.

11 SE - Quadrant, select the Widen Turn Lane For Incoming Road check box.

12 Under Intersection Quadrant, select NW - Quadrant.

13 NW - Quadrant, select the Widen Turn Lane For Incoming Road check
box.

14 Click OK.

15 In the Create Intersection wizard, make sure that the Create Offset And
Curb Return Profiles check box is selected.

16 Click Next.

Specify the corridor parameters

1 On the Corridor Regions page, specify the following options:


■ Create Corridors In The Intersection Area: Selected

■ Add To An Existing Corridor: Selected, Corridor - (1)

490 | Chapter 13 Intersection Tutorials


■ Select Surface To Daylight: Existing Ground

2 Under Select Assembly Set To Import, click Browse.

3 In the Select Assembly Set File dialog box, navigate to the Assemblies
folder (page 759).

4 Select _Autodesk (Metric) Assembly Sets.xml. Click Open.

5 Click Create Intersection.


The intersection is created, and new corridor regions are created in the
intersection area.

Further exploration: To extend the corridor between the two intersections,


add a corridor region between the two intersections.

Exercise 3: Creating an Intersection with Existing Geometry | 491


To continue to the next tutorial, go to Editing Intersections (page 492).

Tutorial: Editing Intersections


This tutorial demonstrates how to modify an existing intersection object.
When an intersection is created between two roads, one of the roads is
designated as the primary road. The elevation of the other road, which is
known as the secondary road, is locked to the primary road. As changes are
made to the horizontal or vertical intersection geometry, the secondary road
design profile is adjusted to accommodate the horizontal and vertical position
of the primary road.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Editing Intersections.

Exercise 1: Editing the Horizontal Geometry of an


Intersection
In this exercise, you will edit the alignments that define the horizontal
geometry of an intersection. You will edit the alignments graphically and
parametrically, and then examine how the changes affect the intersection.

492 | Chapter 13 Intersection Tutorials


For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Editing Offset
Alignments and Widenings.

Modify offset alignment parameters

1 Open Intersection-Edit-Horizontal.dwg, which is located in the tutorial


drawings folder (page 759).
This drawing contains an intersection of a primary road (Road A) and a
secondary road (Road B).
■ The offset alignments for Road A extend along the full length of the
centerline alignment.

■ The offset alignment for Road B does not extend beyond the
intersection extents.

■ The curb returns have widening regions on all four corners of Road
A.

2 Click the intersection marker.


The Intersection tab is displayed on the ribbon. The Modify panel has
tools that you can use to modify the parameters of the horizontal and
vertical geometry of the intersection.

Exercise 1: Editing the Horizontal Geometry of an Intersection | 493


3 Click Intersection tab ➤ Modify panel ➤ Edit Offsets .
The offset alignment parameters are displayed in the Intersection Offset
Parameters dialog box.

4 Under Secondary Road, change the Offset Value for both offset alignments
to 4.000.
Notice that as the values change, the intersection updates in the drawing.

Modify the curb return parameters

1 Click Intersection tab ➤ Modify panel ➤ Edit Curb Returns .


The Intersection Curb Return Parameters dialog box displays the curb
return alignment parameters for the northeast intersection quadrant.
This dialog box enables you to change basic parameters, as well as specific
details of the curb return at each intersection quadrant.
In the drawing, notice that the currently selected curb return is
highlighted.

494 | Chapter 13 Intersection Tutorials


2 Clear the Widen Turn Lane For Outgoing Road check box.
In the drawing, the widening region for the northeast quadrant is
removed.

Exercise 1: Editing the Horizontal Geometry of an Intersection | 495


3 Under Intersection Quadrant, click SW - Quadrant.

4 Clear the Widen Turn Lane For Outgoing Road check box.

496 | Chapter 13 Intersection Tutorials


Grip edit a curb return alignment

1 In the drawing, select the southeast curb return alignment.


Grips appear along the curb return alignment.

Exercise 1: Editing the Horizontal Geometry of an Intersection | 497


2 On the Road A alignment, experiment with the grips.
When you move a grip, the curb return widening region updates, and
the values update in the Intersection Curb Return Parameters dialog box.
For more information about the widening grips, see the AutoCAD Civil
3D Help topic Editing Offset Alignments and Widenings.

3 Press Esc.

Grip edit the centerline alignments

1 Select both offset alignments along Road B.

2 Click the grip on the left. Drag the grip to the left. Click near station
0+660 to place the grip.

498 | Chapter 13 Intersection Tutorials


This action enables the relationship between the curb returns and the
offset alignments to be maintained as you move the intersection along
the centerline alignment.

3 Press Esc.

4 Zoom out to see the ends of both centerline alignments.

5 Select the Road A centerline alignment.

6 Select the grip at the southern end of the alignment.

7 Drag the grip to the left. Click to place the grip.

Exercise 1: Editing the Horizontal Geometry of an Intersection | 499


The intersection slides along the Road B centerline and offset alignment.
The curb return alignments and Road A offset alignments move to
accommodate the new intersection point. The curb return and offset
alignment geometry parameters are maintained.

500 | Chapter 13 Intersection Tutorials


To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Editing the Vertical Geometry of
an Intersection (page 501).

Exercise 2: Editing the Vertical Geometry of an


Intersection
In this exercise, you will edit the profiles that define the vertical geometry of
an intersection object. You will edit the profiles graphically and parametrically,
and examine how the changes affect the intersection.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Editing Intersections.

Examine locked PVIs

1 Open Intersection-Edit-Vertical.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings


folder (page 759).
This drawing contains an intersection of a primary road (Road A) and a
secondary road (Road C).

2 In the lower right viewport, select the layout profile.

Exercise 2: Editing the Vertical Geometry of an Intersection | 501


Notice that lock icons are displayed on three of the PVIs. The lock
icons indicate that the PVIs are locked to another profile. When the
intersection was created, the middle PVI was created at the point where
the secondary road intersects with the primary road profile. The other
two PVIs were created to maintain the primary road crown through the
intersection, and are locked to the edges of the primary road.

3 Click Profile tab ➤ Modify Profile panel ➤ Geometry Editor.

4 On the Profile Layout Tools toolbar, click .

In the Profile Entities vista, notice that a is displayed in the Lock


column for PVIs 5 through 7.

5 Hover the cursor over the icon for PVI 6.


Information about the locked PVI, including alignment, profile, and
intersection, is displayed in a tooltip. PVIs that are created as part of the
intersection creation process are dynamically linked to the primary road
profile.

NOTE You can unlock a PVI by clicking the icon. If a PVI is unlocked, the
profile will no longer react to changes in either the intersection or primary
road profile.

502 | Chapter 13 Intersection Tutorials


6 Click the icon for PVI 8.
The PVI is locked at the current station and elevation. Notice that another

icon is displayed on the profile, and the PVI Station and PVI Elevation
values are no longer available. A PVI can be manually locked to a specified
station and elevation value. Manually locked PVIs are not affected by
modifications to other portions of the profile.

7 Close the Profile Layout Tools toolbar.

8 In the left viewport, select the intersection marker.


On the ribbon, the Intersection tab is displayed. Tools for adjusting the
side road profile are displayed on the Modify panel. You can edit the
primary road profile with the standard profile editing tools.

Modify the secondary road grade

1 Click Intersection tab ➤ Modify panel ➤ Side Road Profile.


The Secondary Road Profile Rules dialog box is displayed. Use this dialog
box to specify the secondary road grade entering and exiting the
intersection.

2 In the Secondary Road Profile Rules dialog box, specify the following
parameters:

Exercise 2: Editing the Vertical Geometry of an Intersection | 503


NOTE Enter the parameters in the following order.

■ Apply Grade Rules: Yes

■ Distance Rule To Adjust The Grade: Specify Distance


This option enables you to specify a distance from the intersection of
the primary and secondary road alignments. This enables you to
extend the side road grade rules outside the extents of the intersection.

■ Distance Value: 100.000m

■ Maximum Grade Change: 2.00%

In the lower right viewport, a new PVI is created 100 meters to the left
of the locked PVIs. The grade entering the intersection is 0.21%, which
is exactly 2.00% less than the primary road grade.

3 In the lower right viewport, select the layout profile.


You can move the grip at the PVI to make minor changes to the profile.
If you drag the grip outside the range of parameters specified in the profile
grade rules, the grip snaps back to the default position that satisfies the
grade rules.

4 Close the Secondary Road Profile Rules dialog box.

5 Press Esc.

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Add a low point to a curb return profile

1 In the upper right viewport, zoom in to the Intersection - 2 - (SE) profile


view.

2 Select the profile.


The grips indicate the extents of the curb return profile. The profile
portions that are outside the extents represent the offset profiles. Changes
to the offset profiles affect the curb return profiles, but changes to the
curb return profile do not affect the offset profiles. Use the grips to
extend the curb return profile along either offset profile.

3 Click Profile tab ➤ Modify Profile panel ➤ Geometry Editor .

4 On the Profile Layout Tools toolbar, click Insert PVI.

5 Click between the two grips to place a PVI, creating a low point on
the curb return.

Exercise 2: Editing the Vertical Geometry of an Intersection | 505


A low point facilitates drainage along a curb return. In the following
procedures, you will see how the curb return reacts to changes in other
objects.

6 Close the Profile Layout Tools toolbar.

Move the primary road alignment

1 In the left viewport, select the Road A alignment.

2 Select the grip at the southern end of the Road A alignment. Drag the
grip to the left. Click to place the grip.

506 | Chapter 13 Intersection Tutorials


In the bottom right viewport, notice that the three dynamically locked
PVIs moved to a new location. This happened because you moved the
alignment to which they are locked.
In the top right viewport, examine how the changes to the intersection
location affect the curb return profile that you modified.

Exercise 2: Editing the Vertical Geometry of an Intersection | 507


Change the primary road profile elevation

1 In the top viewport, pan to the Road A profile view.

2 In the Road A Profile view, select the layout profile.

3 Select the second PI grip from the left. Drag the grip up. Click to place
the grip.

In the bottom viewport, notice that the three locked PVIs moved up to
accommodate the new primary road elevation.
In the top right viewport, the PVI you added to the southeast curb return
has stayed in the location you specified, but the ends of the profile moved
up to accommodate the new elevation of the offset profiles. The ends of
the curb return profile are locked to the offset profiles. You must manually
update PVIs that have been placed within the profile.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 3: Creating and Editing a Corridor in


the Intersection Area (page 509).

508 | Chapter 13 Intersection Tutorials


Exercise 3: Creating and Editing a Corridor in the
Intersection Area
In this exercise, you will create a corridor using existing vertical and horizontal
geometry. You will modify the corridor in the intersection area, and then
experiment with the corridor region recreation tools.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topics Updating Corridor
Regions in Intersections and Recreating Corridor Regions in Intersections.

Create a corridor in the intersection area

1 Open Intersection-Edit-Corridor.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings


folder (page 759).
This drawing contains an intersection of a primary road (Road A) and a
secondary road (Road B). There currently are no corridors or corridor
assemblies in the drawing.

2 Select the intersection marker.

3 Click Intersection tab ➤ Modify panel ➤ Recreate Corridor Regions.

Exercise 3: Creating and Editing a Corridor in the Intersection Area | 509


The Intersection Corridor Regions dialog box is displayed.

4 Under Select Surface To Daylight, select Existing Ground.

5 Under Apply An Assembly Set, click Browse.

6 In the Select Assembly Set File dialog box, navigate to the Assemblies
folder (page 759).

7 Select _Autodesk (Metric) Assembly Sets.xml. Click Open.

8 Click Recreate.
A corridor is displayed in the intersection area.

Modify the corridor properties

1 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, expand the Corridors and


Intersections collections.

If either of the objects in these collections is out of date, right-click


the object and select Rebuild.

510 | Chapter 13 Intersection Tutorials


2 Select the corridor that is in the intersection area.

3 Select the grip that is at the bottom of the intersection. Drag the
grip down. Click to place the grip several hundred meters to the south.

4 Click Corridor tab ➤ Modify panel ➤ Corridor Properties drop-down ➤

Corridor Properties.

5 In the Corridor Properties dialog box, on the Parameters tab, click


Select Region From Drawing.

Exercise 3: Creating and Editing a Corridor in the Intersection Area | 511


6 In the drawing, click the bottom of the corridor.

The specified region is highlighted in the Corridor Properties dialog box.

7 In the highlighted row, in the Frequency column, click .

8 In the Frequency To Apply Assemblies dialog box, under Apply Assembly,


specify the following parameters:
■ Along Tangents: 10

■ Along Curves: 5

■ Along Spirals: 5

■ Along Profile Curves: 5

9 Click OK twice.
The corridor is rebuilt. The corridor extends further to the south. In the
extended region, the assemblies are further apart than the intersection
regions.

512 | Chapter 13 Intersection Tutorials


Recreate the corridor regions

1 Select the intersection marker.

2 Click Intersection tab ➤ Modify panel ➤ Recreate Corridor Regions.

3 In the Intersection Corridor Regions dialog box, under Apply An Assembly


Set, click Browse.

4 In the Select Assembly Set File dialog box, navigate to the Assemblies
folder (page 759).

5 Select _Autodesk (Metric) Assembly Sets.xml. Click Open.

Exercise 3: Creating and Editing a Corridor in the Intersection Area | 513


This is the assembly set that you used to create the corridor. However,
Intersection Corridor Regions dialog box enables you to specify another
assembly set, or individual assemblies, with which to create the corridor.

6 Click Recreate.
The corridor is recreated. Notice that the modifications that you made
to the Road A baseline, including the assembly frequencies and region
start station, returned to their original settings. This happened because
the corridor was recreated using the parameters that were originally
specified during the intersection creation process. Modifications that are
made to the corridor in the intersection area are not retained when you
recreate the corridor from the intersection object.

NOTE Corridor regions that are outside the intersection extents are not
affected by the Recreate Corridor Regions command.

514 | Chapter 13 Intersection Tutorials


Sections Tutorials
14
These tutorials will get you started working with sections and section views, which provide
a view of the terrain cut at an angle across a linear feature, such as a proposed road.
Typically, sections are cut across the centerline alignment of a corridor. These sections are
then plotted, either individually for a station, or as a group for a range of stations.

NOTE All drawings used in these tutorials are available in the tutorial drawings folder (page
759). If you want to save your work from these tutorials, save the drawings to the My Civil
Tutorial Data folder (page 759) so that you do not overwrite the original drawings.

For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Understanding Sections.

Tutorial: Creating Section Views


This tutorial demonstrates how to display cross sections of the corridor model
surfaces along the centerline alignment. You will create sample lines and then
generate the sections.

515
Cross sections show elevations at sample lines, which are created perpendicular
to an alignment. Sections can be derived from surfaces, corridors models, and
corridor surfaces. Furthermore, they can be either dynamic or static. When a
surface or corridor is modified, dynamic sections are automatically updated.
A static section shows the elevations at the time it was created, but does not
react to later geometry changes. Similarly, dynamic sample lines associated
with an alignment move with the alignment if it is modified.

TIP You can use the workflow that is demonstrated in this tutorial to create section
views from a corridor Xref. Section views created from an Xref can be dynamically
linked to the corridor model; if the corridor model in the Xref drawing changes,
the section views update automatically.

For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Sections.

Exercise 1: Creating Sample Lines


In this exercise, you will create a set of sample lines along the alignment.
The sample lines define the stations at which the cross sections are cut, and
also the width of the sections to the left and right of the alignment. A set of
sample lines is stored in a Sample Line Group for the alignment. Each sample
line group has a unique name. Each line within the group also has a unique
name.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Creating and
Editing Sample Lines and Sections.

Create sample lines

1 Open Sections-Sample-Lines-Create.dwg, which is located in the tutorial


drawings folder (page 759).

516 | Chapter 14 Sections Tutorials


2 Click Home tab ➤ Profile & Section Views panel ➤ Sample Lines .

3 At the Select An Alignment prompt, press Enter.

4 In the Select Alignment dialog box, select Centerline (1). Click OK.
The Create Sample Line Group dialog box is displayed. This dialog box
defines the characteristics of the sample line group. The templates shipped
with AutoCAD Civil 3D contain pre-defined line styles and line label
styles for the sample lines.

5 In the top portion of the Create Sample Line Group dialog box, specify
the following parameters:
■ Sample Line Style: Road Sample Lines

■ Sample Line Label Style: Name & Section Marks

6 Under Select Data Sources To Sample, verify that the Sample check boxes
are selected for all entries in the table.
Data sources may include surfaces, corridor models, and corridor surfaces.
Each surface and corridor surface results in a single cross-sectional string.
Using the corridor model as a source includes all of the points, links, and
shapes in the model.

7 Set the Section Styles to the following:

NOTE You can double-click a Style cell in the table to select the Section Style.

■ EG: Existing Ground

■ Corridor - (1): All Codes

■ Corridor - (1) Top: Finished Grade

■ Corridor - (1) Datum: Finished Grade

8 Click OK.
The Sample Line Tools toolbar is displayed. A Specify Station prompt is
displayed on the command line.

9 On the toolbar, click the arrow next to the Sample Line Creation Methods

button . Click From Corridor Stations.


This option creates a sample line at each station found in the corridor
model.

Exercise 1: Creating Sample Lines | 517


10 In the Create Sample Lines - From Corridor Stations dialog box, specify
the following parameters:
■ Left Swath Width: 150

■ Right Swath Width: 150

11 Click OK.
The sample lines are created, and the Sample Line Tools toolbar is
available for defining additional lines, if desired.

12 Close the Sample Lines Tools toolbar.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Creating Section Views (page 518).

Exercise 2: Creating Section Views


In this exercise, you will create a section view for each sample line.
First, you will modify some of the settings that apply to section views.

518 | Chapter 14 Sections Tutorials


For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Creating and
Editing Section Views.
This exercise continues from Exercise 1: Creating Sample Lines (page 516).

Specify the section view creation settings

1 Open Sections-Views-Create.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings


folder (page 759).

2 In Toolspace, on the Settings tab, expand the Section View ➤ Group


Plot Styles collection. Select the Plot All style. Right-click. Click Edit.

3 In the Group Plot Style dialog box, click the Array tab.
This tab defines how multiple section views are organized.

4 Under Space Between Adjacent Views, change both the Column and Row
values to 12.
This defines the separation between adjacent section views.

5 Click OK.

Create section views

1 Click Home tab ➤ Profile & Section Views panel ➤ Section Views

drop-down ➤ Create Multiple Views .

2 In the Create Multiple Section Views wizard, on the General page, specify
the following parameters:
■ Select Alignment: Centerline (1)

■ Sample Line Group Name: SLG-1

■ Station Range: User Specified

■ Start: 0+00.00

■ End: 10+00.00

■ Section View Style: Road Section

■ Group Plot Style: Plot All

3 Click Next.

Exercise 2: Creating Section Views | 519


On the Offset Range page, notice that the Left and Right values are 150.
This is the sample line swath width value that you specified in Exercise
1: Creating Sample Lines (page 516).

4 Click Next.

5 On the Elevation Range page, specify the following parameters:


■ User Specified: Selected

■ Height: 100.000’

■ Section Views Height Option: Follow A Section

■ Select Section: EG

These settings specify that all section views will be 100-feet tall and the
elevation will follow the EG surface elevation.

6 Click Next.
The Section Display Options page specifies the object and label styles for
the sampled objects. In this exercise, you will suppress the labels.

7 On the Section Display Options page, in the Clip Grid column, click the
Corridor - (1) Top row.

8 In the EG row, click the value in the Change Labels column.

9 In the Select Style Set dialog box, select No Labels. Click OK.

10 Repeat Steps 8 and 9 to apply the No Labels style to the Corridor - (1)
Top and Corridor - (1) Datum surfaces.

11 Click Next.

12 On the Data Bands page, under Select Band Set, select Major Station.

13 In the Set Band Properties area, specify the following parameters:


■ Surface1: Corridor (1) - Top

■ Surface 2: Corridor (1) - Datum

14 Click Create Section Views.

15 At the Identify Section View Origin prompt, select a point to the right of
the lower profile view.

16 Pan and zoom around one of the section views.

520 | Chapter 14 Sections Tutorials


Further exploration: Not saving any changes, use the Toolspace Settings tab
to experiment with modifying the following settings:

■ Section View Styles collection ➤ Road Section style

■ Section collection ➤ Section Styles and Label Styles

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Adding a Section View Grade Label


(page 529).

Tutorial: Adding Data to a Section View


This tutorial demonstrates how to add annotative data to a section view.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Sections.

Exercise 1: Projecting an Object onto a Section View


In this exercise, you will project multi-view blocks and 3D polylines from plan
view onto a section view.
A variety of AutoCAD and AutoCAD Civil 3D objects can be projected into a
section view. However, linear objects, such as 3D polylines and feature lines,
are represented as a marker that indicates the point location where the object
crosses the sample line in plan.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Adding Projected
Objects to a Section View.

Tutorial: Adding Data to a Section View | 521


Project objects onto a section view

1 Open Section-Project-Objects.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings


folder (page 759).
A proposed corridor and a series of section views are displayed in two
viewports in the drawing. Red polylines on either side of the corridor
represent the corridor right-of-way. A blue polyline along the right side
of the corridor represents a fence. Multi-view blocks representing a line
of trees are displayed along the left side of the corridor.
In this tutorial, you will project objects at stations 3+00, 8+00, and 13+00.
In the left viewport, the sample line labels at these stations are displayed
with a style that is perpendicular to the sample line and has large text.
In the right viewport, section views are displayed for these stations.

2 Click Home tab ➤ Profile & Section Views panel ➤ Section Views
drop-down ➤ Project Objects To Section View .

3 In the left viewport, select the following objects:


■ The red polylines on either side of the corridor.

■ The blue polyline on the right side of the corridor.

■ The multi-view block that represents a tree at station 13+00.

522 | Chapter 14 Sections Tutorials


4 Press Enter.

5 In the right viewport, click section view 13+00.

6 In the Project Objects To Section View dialog box, click <Set All> in
each column to specify the following parameters:

NOTE You need to specify these parameters for both the 3D Polylines

and Multi-View Blocks categories.

■ Style: Projection Without Exaggeration

■ Elevation Options: Surface ➤ EG

■ Label Style: Offset and Elevation

7 Click OK.
The objects are displayed on the section view. The multi-view block view
and markers that represent the 3D polylines are specified in the object
projection style. The labels annotate the offset and elevation at which
each object is projected.

Exercise 1: Projecting an Object onto a Section View | 523


In the following steps, you will change the elevation of the tree and fence
marker so that they reflect the elevation of the corridor surface.

Edit the elevation of a projected object

1 In the right viewport, click the blue marker that indicates the elevation
of the fence.
When you select the marker in the section view, notice that the blue 3D
polyline in plan is highlighted.

524 | Chapter 14 Sections Tutorials


2 Click the grip. Drag the grip down to change the elevation of the 3D
polyline.

When you click to place the grip, you are notified that the elevation
option for the polyline will be changed to manual. This option enables
you to specify an elevation value for an object at the current station. The
elevation value is applied in the current section view, but the value does
not affect the object in plan view.

3 In the task dialog box, click No.

4 Press Esc.

5 Select section view 13+00. Right-click. Click Section View Properties.


The Projections tab is displayed on the Section View Properties dialog
box. You can use the controls on this tab to change the parameters you
used when you projected objects onto the section view.

NOTE Like other AutoCAD Civil 3D labels, label parameters are changed by
selecting the desired label, and then using the Labels contextual tab on the
ribbon.

6 In the Section View Properties dialog box, on the Projections tab, under

3D Polylines, select the 3D Polyline- 23 row.


When you select the row, notice that the corresponding object is
highlighted in both plan and section views.

7 In the Elevation Options column, change the value to Surface ➤


Corridor - (1) Surface - (1).

Exercise 1: Projecting an Object onto a Section View | 525


8 Repeat Steps 6 and 7 to change the elevation of Multi View Blocks ➤

Eastern White Pine- 21 to reference Corridor - (1) Surface - (1).

9 Click OK.
In the section view, notice that the fence marker and tree are now at the
corridor surface elevation.

Project an object that is at a different station

1 In the left viewport, pan until you can see sample lines SL-3 and SL-8.

2 Select the blocks that represents trees at SL-3 and SL-8.

526 | Chapter 14 Sections Tutorials


3 Click Home tab ➤ Profile & Section Views panel ➤ Section Views
drop-down ➤ Project Objects To Section View .

4 In the right viewport, click section view 13+00.

5 In the Project Objects To Section View dialog box, under Multi View
Blocks, specify the following parameters:
■ Style: Projection Without Exaggeration

■ Elevation Options: Surface ➤ Corridor - (1) Surface - (1)

■ Label Style: Offset and Projected Elevation

6 Click OK.
The tree is displayed on the section view. Two things are evident:
■ Only one of the blocks was projected onto the section view. Objects
in a site can be projected to a section view only if the object falls
within the perpendicular swath width at the specified sample line.
The block at SL-3 was not projected onto the section view because
the block offset value is greater than the perpendicular swath that is
encompassed by SL-13. The black, dashed lines in the following image
illustrate the sample line extents at SL-13.

Exercise 1: Projecting an Object onto a Section View | 527


■ The block from SL-8 is shown at an elevation that appears to be above
the surface. The block is projected at the surface elevation where it is
actually located, and not at the surface elevation at the current sample
line. However, the offset value that is displayed in the label reflects
the object’s offset value at the current sample line.

528 | Chapter 14 Sections Tutorials


Further exploration: Examine the style settings that are available for projected
objects. Projected object styles are located in Toolspace, on the Settings tab,
in the General ➤ Multipurpose Styles ➤ Projection Styles collection. Label
styles for projected objects are located in Toolspace, on the Settings tab, in
the Section View ➤ Label Styles ➤ Projection collection.
To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Adding a Section View Grade Label
(page 529).

Exercise 2: Adding a Section View Grade Label


In this exercise, you will create a section view grade label.

Exercise 2: Adding a Section View Grade Label | 529


For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Sample Line,
Section, and Section View Labels.
This exercise continues from Exercise 1: Projecting an Object onto a Section
View (page 521).

Add a section view grade label

1 Open Section-Grade-Label.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings


folder (page 759).

2 Click Annotate tab ➤ Labels & Tables panel ➤ Add Labels menu ➤ Section
View ➤ Add Section View Labels .
The Add Labels dialog box is displayed. You will change the existing
Grade Label Style to show a grade percentage between two points and
the slope length between those points.

3 In the Add Labels dialog box, specify the following parameters:


■ Label Type: Grade

■ Grade Label Style: Grade_Slope

4 Click Add.
On the command line, you are prompted to select a section view.

5 In the drawing, click a grid line of the section view.


On the command line, you are prompted to pick a point.

6 In the section view, snap to a low point in the section. Snap to a higher
point “up the hill”.
The grade between the two points is displayed. If you wish, add more
grade labels to other pairs of points anywhere in the section view.

7 Right-click or press Esc to end the labeling session.

8 In the Add Labels dialog box, click Close.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 3: Adding a Data Band to a Section


View (page 530).

Exercise 3: Adding a Data Band to a Section View


In this exercise, you will add a data band, which is an optional graphic frame
that is associated with the section view.

530 | Chapter 14 Sections Tutorials


For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Section View Bands.
This exercise continues from Exercise 2: Adding a Section View Grade Label
(page 529).

Add a data band to a section view

1 Open Section-Data-Band.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings


folder (page 759).

2 Select the section view. Right-click. Click Section View Properties.

3 On the Section View Properties dialog box, on the Bands tab, specify the
following parameters:
■ Band Type: Section Segment

■ Select Band Style: FG Segments

4 Click Add.

5 In the List of Bands table, scroll to the right and click the Section 1 cell
for the new band that you created. From the drop-down list, select the
Corridor (1) Top surface.

NOTE The name of the Corridor (1) Top surface varies depending on the
section view that you are editing.

6 Click Apply.
A data band is added to the section view in the drawing. Notice that there
is no data displayed in the band. This happened because the default
Weeding factor specifies that any section segments that are less than 100
drawing units long are not displayed in the band. In the next step, you
will reduce the Weeding factor and examine the results.

7 In the Section Segment row, change the Weeding value to 5.0000.

8 Click OK.
Segment lengths that are greater than 5 drawing units long are annotated
in the new data band.

Exercise 3: Adding a Data Band to a Section View | 531


532
Material Calculation
Tutorials 15
These tutorials will get you started working with the AutoCAD Civil 3D tools for calculating
and reporting material quantities and volumes.
In the following tutorials, you will learn how to use the material calculation tools:

■ Corridor Earthwork Volume tools compare an existing and proposed surface at specified
alignment stations. An earthwork volume report lists the cumulative cut and fill volumes,
as well as the incremental volume at each specified station.
■ Mass Haul Diagrams display cut and fill volumes along an alignment. Mass haul diagrams
illustrate the distance over which cut and fill volumes balance, the volume of material to
be moved, and the locations of borrow pits and dump sites.
■ Pay Item Quantities extract and report the cost of a project based on the quantity of pay
items that are assigned to AutoCAD or AutoCAD Civil 3D objects in the project.

NOTE All drawings used in these tutorials are available in the tutorial drawings folder (page
759). If you want to save your work from these tutorials, save the drawings to the My Civil
Tutorial Data folder (page 759) so that you do not overwrite the original drawings.

For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Understanding Sections.

Tutorial: Calculating Earthwork Volumes from


Corridor Models
This tutorial demonstrates how to calculate cut and fill earthwork quantities
between two surfaces.

533
Earthwork and material volumes are calculated by comparing two surfaces to
each other. You can calculate quantities between sample lines derived from
regular surface models and from corridor surfaces.
User-definable tables specify which materials are defined by which surfaces,
and the characteristics of these materials. Finally, average end area analysis is
used to tabulate the material quantities along the corridor.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Analyzing Sectional
Volumes.

Exercise 1: Reviewing Quantity Takeoff Criteria and


Report Settings
In this exercise, you will review the options that are available for quantity
takeoff criteria and reports.
The quantity takeoff report settings include the default quantity takeoff criteria
used to create material lists and default styles for tables. The quantity takeoff
criteria includes a list of materials that specifies the surfaces and shapes from
which you want to generate volume information.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topics Quantity Takeoff
Settings and Creating Quantity Takeoff Criteria.

Review quantity takeoff settings

1 Open Earthworks-1.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder


(page 759).
The drawing opens, displaying three viewports.

2 In Toolspace, on the Settings tab, expand Quantity Takeoff ➤


Commands.

3 Under the Commands collection, double-click GenerateQuantitiesReport


to display the Edit Command Settings dialog box.

4 Browse through the various settings available, but do not change any
settings. When finished, click Cancel.

Examine the quantity takeoff criteria

1 In Toolspace, on the Settings tab, expand Quantity Takeoff ➤ Quantity


Takeoff Criteria.
Three styles are defined in the collection.

534 | Chapter 15 Material Calculation Tutorials


2 Double-click the Earthworks style to open the Quantity Takeoff Criteria
dialog box.

3 Click the Material List tab.


This tab contains a pre-defined table for calculating earthworks (cut and
fill) by comparing a Datum surface layer to an existing ground surface
layer.

4 Expand the Earthworks item in the table.


You will use the Earthworks criteria in the next exercise to calculate the
quantity takeoff.
Notice that the Condition for the EG surface is set to Base, while the
condition of the Datum surface is set to Compare. This indicates that the
material is going to be fill when Datum is above EG, and cut when Datum
is below EG.
Also note the three Factor values in the table:
■ The Cut factor is typically used as an expansion factor for excavated
material. It is usually 1.0 or higher.

■ The Fill factor is typically used as a compaction factor for fill material.
It is usually 1.0 or lower.

■ The Refill factor indicates what percentage of cut material can be


reused as fill. It should be 1.0 or lower.

5 Click Cancel.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Creating a Material List (page 535).

Exercise 2: Creating a Material List


In this exercise, you will create a material list, which defines the quantity
takeoff criteria and surfaces to compare during an earthworks analysis.
A material list is required to generate either an earthworks volume report or
a mass haul diagram. A material list specifies the existing ground and datum
surface to compare, and is saved with the sample line properties.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Generating Material
Lists.
This exercise continues from Exercise 1: Reviewing Quantity Takeoff Criteria
and Report Settings (page 534).

Exercise 2: Creating a Material List | 535


Create a material list

1 Open Earthworks-1.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder


(page 759).
The drawing opens, displaying three viewports.

2 Click Analyze tab ➤ Volumes And Materials panel ➤ Compute


Materials.

3 In the Select A Sample Line Group dialog box, specify the following
parameters:
■ Select Alignment: Centerline (1)

■ Select Sample Line Group: SLG-1

4 Click OK.
The Compute Materials dialog box is displayed, showing a list of all items
defined in the selected criteria.

5 Verify that the Quantity Takeoff Criteria field is set to Earthworks.

6 In the table, expand the Surfaces item.


This shows surfaces EG and Datum. Next, you will set the actual object
names that define those surfaces.

7 In the Object Name column, in the EG row, click <Click Here...>. Select
EG from the list.

8 In the Object Name column, in the Datum row, click <Click Here...>.
Select Corridor - (1) Datum from the list.
In the Earthworks criteria settings, EG is set as the base surface and Datum
is set as the Compare surface. The Object Name fields specify which object
calls for both an EG surface as the base and a Datum surface as the
comparison. These criteria can be used with multiple projects and
corridors.
The Object Name fields in the Compute Materials dialog box define a
specific surface and corridor surface to map to the names in the
Earthworks criteria.

9 Click OK.
The calculation is performed and a list of materials is stored with the
sample line group properties. In the drawing, notice that the cut and fill
areas in each section are shaded. Hover the cursor over the shaded areas
to examine the information that is displayed.

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To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 3: Generating a Volume Report (page
537).

Exercise 3: Generating a Volume Report


In this exercise, you will use the Earthworks criteria to generate a quantity
takeoff report.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topics Generating Material
Lists and Analyzing Sectional Volumes.
This exercise continues from Exercise 2: Creating a Material List (page 535).

Generate a volume report

1 Open Earthworks-2.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder


(page 759).
The drawing opens, displaying three viewports.

2 Click Analyze tab ➤ Volumes And Materials panel ➤ Volume Report.

3 In the Report Quantities dialog box, specify the following parameters:


■ Select Alignment: Centerline (1)

■ Select Sample Line Group: SLG-1

■ Select A Material List: Material List - (1)


This is the material list you created in Exercise 2: Creating a Material
List (page 535) by calculating volume quantities for the sample line
group using the Earthworks criteria.

■ Select A Style Sheet: Earthwork.xsl

■ Display XML Report: Selected

4 Click OK.

5 The report is displayed.


The Cut Area is the area of material in cut, multiplied by the Cut Factor
defined in the quantity takeoff criteria. The Fill Area is the area of fill
material multiplied by the Fill Factor.
The areas for each material are averaged between stations and multiplied
by the station difference to produce the incremental volumes. These
volumes are added from station to station to produce the cumulative
volumes.

Exercise 3: Generating a Volume Report | 537


Finally, the Cum. Net Volume value at each station is calculated as the
cumulative Reusable volume minus the cumulative Fill volume.

To continue to the next tutorial, go to Working with Mass Haul Diagrams


(page 538).

Tutorial: Working with Mass Haul Diagrams


This tutorial demonstrates how to create and edit mass haul diagrams to display
earthworks in profile.
Mass haul is defined as the volume of material multiplied by the distance it
is moved during construction. A mass haul diagram consists of two objects:
a mass haul line, and a mass haul view. The mass haul line represents the free
haul and overhaul volumes in cut and fill conditions along an alignment. The
mass haul view is the grid on which the mass haul line is drawn.
The middle axis of the mass haul view is known as the balance line. The
location of the mass haul line relative to the balance line indicates material
movement in the current design. When the mass haul line rises above the
balance line, it indicates a region in which material is cut. When the mass
haul line falls below the balance line, it indicates a region in which material
is fill.
There are two methods to compare free haul volume and overhaul volume:

Grade Points
Grade points are stations at which the proposed project design transitions
from cut to fill. In a mass haul diagram, a grade point is the highest or lowest
point in a mass haul region. A grade point is the highest point in a mass haul
region where the profile transitions from a cut condition to a fill condition.
A grade point is the lowest point in a mass haul region where the profile
transitions from a fill condition to a cut condition.
In the grade points method of measuring free haul, a horizontal line that is
the length of the specified free haul distance is drawn. The line is positioned
so that it is both parallel to the balance line and touches the mass haul line.
The volume that is enclosed in the area formed by this line and the mass haul
line is free haul.
In the following image, the green areas are free haul volume, and the red areas
are overhaul volume. The magenta circles and arrows indicate the grade points
on the mass haul line and profile. The vertical magenta lines illustrate the

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relationship between the mass haul line and profile in the grade point
balancing method.

Balance Points
Balance points are the stations at which the net cut and fill volumes are equal.
In a mass haul diagram, the balance points are located on the balance line,
where the net volume is zero. In the balance points method of measuring free
haul, the mass haul line is duplicated and shifted horizontally to the right
(where the project transitions from cut to fill) or to the left (where the project
transitions from fill to cut) by the free haul distance.
In the following image, the green areas are free haul volume, and the red areas
are overhaul. The arrows illustrate the free haul distance in cut and fill
conditions.

Tutorial: Working with Mass Haul Diagrams | 539


For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Using Mass Haul
Diagrams.

Exercise 1: Creating a Mass Haul Diagram


In this exercise, you will create a mass haul diagram that displays free haul
and overhaul volumes for a project site.
To create a mass haul diagram, the following items must be available:

■ an alignment

■ two surfaces

■ a sample line group

■ a material list

The sample drawing that you will use for this exercise contains all of these
items.
To learn how to create a material list, see the Creating a Material List (page
535) exercise.

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For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Using Mass Haul
Diagrams.

Create a mass haul diagram

1 Open Mass Haul-1.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder


(page 759).

2 Click Analyze tab ➤ Volumes And Materials panel ➤ Mass Haul.

3 In the Create Mass Haul Diagram wizard, on the General page, specify
the following parameters:
■ Mass Haul View Name: Mass Haul Balancing

■ Mass Haul View Style: Free Haul and Overhaul

4 Click Next.

5 On the Mass Haul Display Options page, examine the settings in the
Material area. The selection in the Material List is saved with the selected
sample line group. To learn how to create a material list, see the Creating
a Material List (page 535) exercise. Examine the options that are available
in the Choose A Material To Display As Mass Haul Line list, but accept
the default Total Volume option. In the Mass Haul Line area, specify the
following settings:
■ Mass Haul Line Name: Mass Haul Line Total Volume

■ Mass Haul Line Style: Free Haul and Overhaul- Grade Point

6 Click Next.

7 On the Balancing Options page, under Free Haul Options, select the Free
Haul Distance check box. Enter 300.0000’ as the free haul distance.
This value specifies that the distance that the earthmover hauls material
at the standard rate. Material moved beyond this distance is considered
overhaul, and typically is charged at a higher rate.

8 Click Create Diagram.

9 In the drawing, snap to the center of the red circle that is above the profile
view to place the mass haul diagram.
The mass haul diagram is displayed, and contains three mass haul regions.
As shown in the following image, mass haul regions identify station
ranges where material is either cut or fill. When the mass haul line is

Exercise 1: Creating a Mass Haul Diagram | 541


above the balance line, material is cut. When the mass haul line is below
the balance line, material is fill.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Balancing Mass Haul Volumes (page


542).

Exercise 2: Balancing Mass Haul Volumes


In this exercise, you will balance the mass haul volumes above and below the
balance line, which will eliminate overhaul volume.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Using Mass Haul
Diagrams.
This exercise continues from Exercise 1: Creating a Mass Haul Diagram (page
540).

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Balance cut material volumes

NOTE This exercise uses Mass Haul-1.dwg with the modifications you made in
the previous exercise, or you can open Mass Haul-2.dwg from the tutorial drawings
folder (page 759).

1 Zoom in on the mass haul region that is on the left-hand side of the
diagram.
Notice that the highest point of the green free haul area is at station 3+25.
This is the grade point, which is the point at which free haul transitions
from cut to fill. Depending on the site conditions, grade points can be
logical locations for dump sites or borrow pits, which can reduce or
eliminate overhaul.

2 At station 3+25, hover the cursor over the mass haul line.
Notice that the tooltip displays the current station number (3+25) and
volume (approximately 1500.00 Cu. Yd.).

3 Select the mass haul line. Right-click. Click Mass Haul Line Properties.

4 In the Mass Haul Line Properties dialog box, click the Balancing Options
tab.

5 In the Add/Remove Borrow Pits And Dump Sites area, click Add Dump
Site.

6 In the Station cell, enter 325.


This is the number of the station at the grade point for the volume above
the balance line.

7 In the Capacity cell, enter 1500.


This is the approximate volume (1500.00 Cu.Yd.) at the grade point.

8 Click OK.

Exercise 2: Balancing Mass Haul Volumes | 543


The cut volume above the balance line is entirely free haul. Notice that
now there is a red, overhaul volume below the balance line. You will
balance the fill volume in the following procedure.

Balance fill material volumes

1 Below the balance line, zoom in to station 6+25 on the mass haul line.
Notice that this is near the point at which the overhaul volume (in red)
and the free haul volume (in green) meet the mass haul line. If you
examine this station on the profile, you see that it is also a relatively flat
section of the existing ground surface. Flat areas can also be good locations
for dump sites and borrow pits.

2 At station 6+25, hover the cursor over the mass haul line.
Notice that the tooltip displays the current station number and volume,
which is approximately 2000.00 Cu. Yd.

3 Select the mass haul line. Right-click. Click Mass Haul Line Properties.

4 In the Mass Haul Line Properties dialog box, click the Balancing Options
tab.

5 In the Add/Remove Borrow Pits And Dump Sites area, click Add Borrow
Pit.

544 | Chapter 15 Material Calculation Tutorials


6 In the Station cell for the borrow pit, click .

7 In the drawing, pan to left so that you can see the corridor and surface.
Click near station 6+25 on the corridor.
Notice the lack of surface contours in the area around station 6+25. This
indicates that the region is relatively flat.

8 In the Capacity cell for the borrow pit, enter 2000.


This is the approximate volume value that you noted in Step 2.

9 Click OK.
The fill volume below the balance line is entirely free haul.

Further exploration: Balance the mass haul volumes in the third region
by adding a dump site at station 11+50 with a capacity of 10000 Cu. Yd.

10 Close the drawing, but do not save your changes.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 3: Editing the Mass Haul Line Style
(page 545).

Exercise 3: Editing the Mass Haul Line Style


In this exercise, you will create a mass haul line style that is based on an
existing style.
The mass haul line style controls the display of the line that displays free haul
and overhaul volumes in a mass haul view. The display components, such as
color, linetype, and hatch patterns, in the mass haul line style are similar to
the components that are in other object styles. The mass haul line style also
specifies the method with which free haul is measured.
In this exercise, you will copy an existing mass haul line style to create a new
style. You will examine the differences between the grade point and balance
point methods of measuring free haul.

Exercise 3: Editing the Mass Haul Line Style | 545


NOTE The mass haul view style uses many of the same options as the profile view
style. For information about editing the profile view style, see the Editing the Profile
View Style exercise (page 283).

For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Using Mass Haul
Diagrams.
This exercise continues from Exercise 2: Balancing Mass Haul Volumes (page
542).

To edit the mass haul line style

1 Open Mass Haul-2.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder


(page 759).

2 In the drawing, select the mass haul line. Right-click. Click Mass Haul
Line Properties.

3 In the Mass Haul Line Properties dialog box, on the Information tab, in

the Object Style area, click the arrow next to . Click Copy Current
Selection.

4 In the Mass Haul Line Style dialog box, on the Information tab, change
the Name to Free Haul and Overhaul - Balance Point.

5 On the Free Haul tab, in the Free Haul Options area, notice that the
Measure From Grade Point option is selected. Also notice that the graphic
to the right resembles the mass haul diagram in the drawing. Grade points
are the points at which volumes transition from cut to fill. When free
haul is measured from grade points, the highest point (or lowest, if below
the balance line) is the grade point.

6 Select Measure From Balance Point.


Notice that the graphic changes. Balance points are the points at which
the mass haul line crosses the balance line. These are the station at which
the cut volume and fill volume are equal.

7 On the Display tab, in the Component Hatch Display area, in the Free
Haul Area Hatch row, click the Pattern cell.

8 In the Hatch Pattern dialog box, for Pattern Name, select CROSS. Click
OK.

9 In the Mass Haul Line Style dialog box, click the Display tab. In the
Component Hatch Display area, in the Free Haul Area Hatch row, change
the Scale to 30.0000.

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10 Repeat Steps 7 through 9 to change the Overhaul Area Hatch Pattern to
DASH.

NOTE A solid component fill provides the best performance. Drawing


regeneration may be slower if a hatch pattern is used on a long mass haul
diagram.

11 Click OK twice.
The patterns you selected are displayed in the free haul and overhaul
areas of the mass haul diagram. Notice that the mass haul diagram uses
the balance point method to measure free haul.

To continue to the next tutorial, go to Calculating and Reporting Quantities


(page 547).

Tutorial: Calculating and Reporting Quantities


In this tutorial, you will learn how to create and manage pay item data,
associate pay item codes with several types of drawing objects, and generate
pay item quantity reports.

Tutorial: Calculating and Reporting Quantities | 547


A pay item is a specific unit of work for which a price is provided and paid to
a contractor while a site is under construction. It consists of a pay item ID
number, description, and unit of measure.
Pay items can be associated with any AutoCAD entity, such as lines, closed
polygons, and blocks, after they have been created. When pay items are
associated with an AutoCAD Civil 3D pipe network parts list or code set style,
then the pipe network or corridor object is automatically tagged with the
specified pay items.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Using Pay Items
to Analyze Quantities.

Exercise 1: Loading and Navigating a Pay Item List


In this exercise, you will open a sample file that contains a pay item list and
examine the contents.
A pay item file contains a listing of the pay item codes, descriptions, and units
of measure.
An optional pay item categorization file categorizes the pay items into
manageable groups. A pay item categorization file groups similar pay items
by common pay item code prefixes.
You will learn how to create a custom pay item file and categorization file in
Exercise 7: Creating a Pay Item List (page 569).
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topics Importing Master
Pay Item Lists and Managing Pay Item Lists.

Load a pay item file

1 Open Quantities-1.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder


(page 759).
This drawing contains a commercial site, which consists of a building
footprint, a parking lot, and access roads.

2 Click Analyze tab ➤ QTO panel ➤ QTO Manager.

3 In the QTO Manager vista, click Open Pay Item File.

4 In the Open Pay Item File dialog box, specify the following parameters:

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NOTE The Pay Item File and Pay Item Categorization File are located in the
Data\Pay Item Data\Getting Started folder (page 759).

■ Pay Item File Format: CSV (Comma Delimited)

■ Pay Item File: Getting Started.csv

■ Pay Item Categorization File: Getting Started Categories.xml

5 Click OK.
The pay item categories are displayed in the QTO Manager vista. The Pay
Item ID column lists the categories that are specified in the pay item
categorization file. The Description column identifies the contents of
each category.

Search for pay items

1 In the Pay Item ID column, expand several Pay Item ID categories.


Notice that any material or unit of work can be classified as a pay item.
The Unit Type column identifies the unit of measure assigned to each
pay item.

2 Click Turn Off Categorization.


The categories specified by the pay item categorization file are removed.
The QTO Manager displays all pay items in the pay item file.

3 In the Enter Text To Filter Pay Items field, enter Asphalt. Click .
The filtered pay item list displays only pay items that have a description
that contains the word “asphalt”.

4 In the Enter Text To Filter Pay Items field, enter 60902-0800. Click .
A single pay item is displayed. This method of filtering searches in both
the pay item ID and description, and is helpful if you know the pay item
number.

5 In the Pay Item ID column, right-click the pay item number. Click Add
To Favorites List.

6 Expand the Favorites collection.


The specified pay item is displayed in the Favorites list, which is a
convenient location to save frequently used pay items.

Exercise 1: Loading and Navigating a Pay Item List | 549


NOTE The contents of the Favorites category are saved with the drawing.
To save time during this tutorial, the pay items you will use are saved as
Favorites in subsequent drawings.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Assigning Pay Item Codes to


AutoCAD Objects (page 550).

Exercise 2: Assigning Pay Item Codes to AutoCAD


Objects
In this exercise, you will assign pay item codes to a variety of AutoCAD objects,
including lines, blocks, and closed polyline areas.
You will use the AutoCAD Quick Select and Select Similar commands to select
similar objects. You can use these commands to assign a pay item code to
many objects at the same time.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Tagging Objects
with Pay Items.
This exercise continues from Exercise 1: Loading and Navigating a Pay Item
List (page 548).

Assign a pay item code to linear objects

1 Open Quantities-2.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder


(page 759).
This drawing contains a commercial site, which consists of a building
footprint, a parking lot, and access roads.

2 On the command line, enter QSELECT.

3 Click OK to acknowledge that objects were not selected.

4 In the Quick Select dialog box, specify the following parameters:


■ Apply To: Entire Drawing

■ Object Type: Line

■ Properties: Layer

■ Operator: = Equals

■ Value: PKNG-STRP-AISLES

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■ How To Apply: Include In New Selection Set

■ Append to Current Selection Set: Selected

5 Click OK.

6 Press Enter to return to the Quick Select dialog box.

7 Repeat Steps 2 through 4 to select the lines on the PKNG-STRP-STALLS


layer.
In the drawing, all parking lot stall lines are selected.

8 Click Analyze tab ➤ QTO panel ➤ QTO Manager.

9 In the QTO Manager vista, click .

Exercise 2: Assigning Pay Item Codes to AutoCAD Objects | 551


TIP You can also right-click the pay item and click Assign Pay Item.

10 In the Favorites category, select Pay Item ID 63401-0300.

11 Press Enter.

12 Hover the cursor over one of the parking lot lines.


The tooltip displays the pay item description and ID that has been
assigned to that object.

Assign a pay item to AutoCAD blocks

1 In the drawing, select one of the blocks that represent parking lot lamps.

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2 Right-click. Click Select Similar.
All the lamp blocks are selected.

3 Click .

4 In the Favorites category, select Pay Item ID 63612-0300.

5 Press Enter.

6 Hover the cursor over one of the blocks.


The tooltip displays the description and ID of each pay item that has
been assigned to that block.

Exercise 2: Assigning Pay Item Codes to AutoCAD Objects | 553


Assign multiple pay item codes to a closed area

1 In the QTO Manager vista, click .

2 In the Favorites category, select the following pay items:


■ 62401-0400

■ 62511-2000

■ 62525-0000

TIP To select multiple items, hold the Ctrl key down and then click the items.

3 Press Enter.

4 On the command line, enter O.


This action activates object selection mode, in which you select the outline
of a closed object, as opposed to a point inside the object. Because some
of the parking lot islands are subdivided by pipes, you can use object
selection mode to assign the pay item codes to the entire object, not only
to the closed area that you select.

TIP For faster performance, zoom in to a closed polygon before you select
it.

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5 In the drawing, click the green border in a parking lot island.
A solid hatch pattern is displayed in the parking lot island. This indicates
that the pay items have been applied to the area.

6 Select several other islands.

7 Press Enter to end the command.

8 Hover the cursor over one of the parking lot islands.


The tooltip displays the description and ID of each pay item that has
been assigned to that area.

Exercise 2: Assigning Pay Item Codes to AutoCAD Objects | 555


To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 3: Assigning Pay Item Codes to Pipe
Network Parts (page 556).

Exercise 3: Assigning Pay Item Codes to Pipe Network


Parts
In this exercise, you will modify a parts list to assign pay item codes to pipe
network parts as they are created. You will also learn how to assign pay item
codes to existing pipe network parts.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Tagging Objects
with Pay Items.
This exercise continues from Exercise 2: Assigning Pay Item Codes to AutoCAD
Objects (page 550).

Specify the QTO command settings

1 Open Quantities-3.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder


(page 759).
This drawing contains a commercial site, which consists of a building
footprint, a parking lot, and access roads. The site also contains a storm
sewer network that has pipes and several types of structures.

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2 Click Analyze tab ➤ QTO panel ➤ QTO Manager.

3 In the QTO Manager vista, click .

4 In the Quantity Takeoff Command Settings dialog box, under Compute


Takeoff Options, specify the following parameters:
■ Length Computation Type: 3D

■ Pipe Length Type: To Inside Edges

These parameters specify that the pipe lengths will be reported, using the
end-to-end distance, from the inside edge of each structure.

5 Click OK.

Add pay item codes to a pipe network

1 In the drawing, select a pipe network part. Click Pipe Networks


tab ➤ Modify panel ➤ Network Properties.

2 In the Pipe Network Properties dialog box, on the Layout Settings tab,

under Network Parts List, click Edit Current Selection.

3 In the Network Parts List dialog box, on the Pipes tab, expand the Storm
Sewer ➤ Concrete Pipe category.

4 In the 18 inch RCP row, click .

5 In the Pay Item List dialog box, expand the Favorites category.

6 In the Favorites category, select Pay Item ID 60201-0600.

7 Click OK.

8 Click the Structures tab.

9 Repeat Steps 4 through 7 to assign pay items to the following structures:


Structure Pay Item ID

51 x 6 x 51 inch Concrete Rectangular Headwall 60103-0100


Mat_CONC

Eccentric Structure 48 dia 24 frame 24 cone 5 wall 6 floor 60403-1100 60409-0500


Mat_CONC

Exercise 3: Assigning Pay Item Codes to Pipe Network Parts | 557


10 Click OK three times.

Add parts with pay items to the pipe network

1 In the drawing, select a pipe. Click Pipe Networks tab ➤ Modify panel ➤
Edit Pipe Network.

2 On the Network Layout Tools toolbar, specify the following parameters:


■ Structure: Eccentric Structure 48 dia 24 frame 24 cone 5 wall 6 floor
Mat_CONC

■ Pipe: 18 inch RCP

■ Pipes and Structures: Selected

3 In the drawing, click two points.


This action creates two structures that are connected by a pipe.

4 Press Enter.

5 Hover the cursor over one of the new structures.


The tooltip displays the description and ID of each pay item that has
been assigned to that structure.

Assign pay items to existing pipe network parts

1 In the drawing, select one of the catch basins along the road.

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2 Right-click. Click Select Similar.

3 In the QTO Manager vista, click .

4 In the Favorites category, select Pay Item IDs 60403-1100 and


60409-0500.

5 Press Enter.

6 Hover the cursor over one of the catch basins.


The tooltip displays the description and ID of the pay items that have
been assigned to the catch basin.

Exercise 3: Assigning Pay Item Codes to Pipe Network Parts | 559


Further exploration: Repeat this procedure on the other structures in the
network, assigning pay item codes that are appropriate for the square
catch basins, manholes, and headwalls.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 4: Assigning Pay Item Codes to


Corridors (page 560).

Exercise 4: Assigning Pay Item Codes to Corridors


In this exercise, you will create a code set style to assign pay item codes to
corridor areas and linear features.
A code set style applies pay items to the link or point codes that define corridor
assemblies. The code set style enables you to use the corridor model to compute
quantities for a variety of units of measure, such as:

■ Cumulative Area or Volumes: To extract cumulative volumes of closed


corridor areas, apply pay item codes to corridor links.
Links with pay item codes are used to extract pay item area or volumetric
quantities of materials such as asphalt, gravel, or soil.

■ Linear Quantities: To extract linear quantities along a corridor feature line,


apply pay item codes to corridor points.

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Points with pay item codes are used to extract linear quantities for materials
such as guardrails and curb.

■ Itemized Count: To extract itemized quantities of a particular item, apply


pay item codes to corridor points, and use a formula to compute the
quantity from the feature line length.

NOTE You will learn how to create and apply pay item formulas in Exercise
6: Working with Pay Item Formulas (page 566).

For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Tagging Objects
with Pay Items.
This exercise continues from Exercise 3: Assigning Pay Item Codes to Pipe
Network Parts (page 556).

Create a code set style

1 Open Quantities-4.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder


(page 759).
This drawing contains a commercial site, which consists of a building
footprint, a parking lot, and access roads.

2 In Toolspace, on the Settings tab, expand the General ➤ Multipurpose


Styles ➤ Code Set Styles collection. Right-click All Codes. Click Copy.

3 In the Code Set Style dialog box, on the Information tab, for Name, enter
Corridor Quantities.

4 On the Codes tab, under Link, in the Base row, click .

5 In the Favorites category, select Pay Item ID 30202-0600.

6 Click OK.

7 Repeat Steps 4 through 6 to apply pay item codes to the following links:
■ Pave: 40920-1000

■ Pave1: 40930-0200

■ Pave2: 40310-3300

■ SubBase: 30202-0800

8 Repeat Steps 4 through 6 to apply pay item codes to the following Point:

Exercise 4: Assigning Pay Item Codes to Corridors | 561


Top_Curb: 60902-0800

9 Click OK.

Apply the new code set to the corridor and assembly

1 In the drawing, select the side road corridor. Right-click. Click Properties.

2 On the Properties palette, under Data, for Code Set Style Name, select
Corridor Quantities.

3 Press Esc.

4 In the drawing, select the baseline of each corridor assembly. Right-click.


Click Properties.

5 On the Properties palette, under Data, for Code Set Style Name, select
Corridor Quantities.

6 Press Esc.

7 Rebuild the corridor.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 5: Working with Quantity Reports


(page 563).

562 | Chapter 15 Material Calculation Tutorials


Exercise 5: Working with Quantity Reports
In this exercise, you will generate quantity reports, and then examine several
ways to use the resulting data.
You can display and save reports in multiple formats, including XML, CSV,
HTML, and TXT. Two types of quantity takeoff reports are available:

■ Summary Report: Lists the total sum of each pay item. You can restrict a
summary report to compute pay item quantities relative to the station
range of a specified alignment.

■ Detailed Report: Lists the quantity of each pay item type (area, count, and
linear). Each instance of a pay item is reported as a separate line item, and
its position relative to a specified alignment may be reported. You can
restrict an itemized report to compute pay items relative to the station
range of a specified alignment.

For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Reporting Pay Item
Quantities.
This exercise continues from Exercise 4: Assigning Pay Item Codes to Corridors
(page 560).

Generate a summary pay item quantity report

1 Open Quantities-5.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder


(page 759).
This drawing contains a commercial site, which consists of a building
footprint, a parking lot, and access roads. Several of the objects in this
drawing have pay items associated with them.

2 Click Analyze tab ➤ QTO panel ➤ Takeoff.

3 In the Compute Quantity Takeoff dialog box, specify the following


parameters:
■ Report Type: Summary

■ Report Extents: Drawing


This option specifies that the report will include pay item data for all
objects in the current drawing. Other options enable you to restrict
the report to objects that are within a sheet or selection set.

■ Limit Extents To Alignment Station Range: Cleared


Use this option to specify an alignment station range to which to
restrict the report. The report will include pay item data for drawing

Exercise 5: Working with Quantity Reports | 563


objects that can be projected onto the alignment within the specified
station range.
In this exercise, you will not restrict the quantity report.

■ Report Selected Pay Items Only: Cleared

4 Click Compute.

5 In the Quantity Takeoff Report dialog box, in the drop-down menu, select
Summary (TXT).xsl.
Examine the report. Notice that the report lists the ID, description, total
quantity, and unit of measure for each pay item.

NOTE The quantities for the pay items that are associated with the corridor
codes are not calculated in a summary report. In the following steps, these
items will be calculated in a itemized report.

6 In the Quantity Takeoff Report dialog box, click Close.

Generate a detailed pay item quantity report

1 In the Compute Quantity Takeoff dialog box, specify the following


parameters:
■ Report Type: Detailed

■ Report Extents: Selection Set

■ Limit Extents To Alignment Station Range: Cleared

■ Report Selected Pay Items Only: Cleared

■ Report Station And Offset Relative To: Side Road


In a detailed report, the station and offset value for each item relative
to a specified alignment is displayed.

2 Next to Report Extents, click .

3 In the drawing, select the pipes and structures along the side road. Press
Enter.

564 | Chapter 15 Material Calculation Tutorials


4 Click Compute.

5 In the Quantity Takeoff Report dialog box, in the drop-down menu, select
Detailed Linear (HTML).xsl.
Examine the report. The length, station, and offset of the start and end
of each pipe is displayed in this report.

6 In the drop-down menu, select Detailed Count (HTML).xsl.


The baseline, station value, and offset of the object to which each pay
item is assigned is displayed for each pay item instance.
Notice that several instances of Pay Item 60409-0500 are 17 feet on either
side of the alignment. This indicates that these inlets are placed along
the edges of pavement of the Side Road corridor.

Insert a quantity takeoff report into the drawing

1 Click Draw.

2 Pan to an empty space in the drawing.

3 Click the place the table.


The drawing zooms to the quantity takeoff report, which is in an
AutoCAD table.

Exercise 5: Working with Quantity Reports | 565


Export a quantity takeoff report

1 In the Quantity Takeoff Report dialog box, in the drop-down menu, select
Detailed Area (CSV).xsl.
You can export a quantity takeoff report to any of the formats in this list.

2 Click Save As.

3 In the Save Quantity Takeoff Report As dialog box, navigate to the My


Civil Tutorial Data folder (page 759).

4 For File Name, enter QTO_Detailed Area (CSV).txt. Click Save.


You can import the text file into a spreadsheet application, such as
Microsoft Excel.

5 Click Close twice.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 6: Working with Pay Item Formulas


(page 566).

Exercise 6: Working with Pay Item Formulas


In this exercise, you will build a mathematical formula that applies a pay item
to a corridor at a specified interval.
In the example used in this exercise, the pay item formula adds recessed
pavement markers at 10-foot intervals along the corridor. Similar applications
of this formula include lane striping and quantity of posts along a guardrail
or fence.
Formulas can also be used to convert pay item quantities from one unit of
measure to another. For example, you could create a formula that converts
square yards of a given pay item to tonnage.
Pay item formulas, label expressions, and design checks are created in a similar
manner. However, unlike label expressions and design checks, pay item
formulas are not saved in the current drawing. You will learn how to save and
manage pay item formula files in this exercise.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Using Formulas
with Pay Item Lists.
This exercise continues from Exercise 5: Working with Quantity Reports (page
563).

566 | Chapter 15 Material Calculation Tutorials


Create a pay item formula

1 Open Quantities-6.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder


(page 759).
This drawing contains a commercial site, which consists of a building
footprint, a parking lot, and access roads.

2 In the drawing, select the side road corridor. Click Corridor tab ➤ Modify
panel ➤ Corridor Properties drop-down ➤ Corridor Properties.

3 In the Corridor Properties dialog box, on the Feature Lines tab, in the

Crown row, click .

4 In the Pay Item List dialog box, expand the Favorites category.

5 In the Favorites category, select Pay Item ID 63407-0000.

6 In the Pay Item ID number 63401-0300 row, click the Formula cell.
You are notified that pay item formulas must be written to an external
file. After the formula file has been saved, it remains associated with the
current drawing. Other formulas that you write in the current drawing
will be saved to the same formula file.

7 Click OK.

8 In the Specify A Quantity Takeoff Formula File dialog box, navigate to


the My Civil Tutorial Data folder (page 759).

BEST PRACTICE Save the pay item formula file in the same location as either
the drawing with which it is used, or the master pay item list. If you send the
drawing to another user, you must also send the formula file.

9 For File Name, enter Tutorial_QTO_Pay-Item-Formulas.for. Click Save.

10 In the QTO Pay Item Formula dialog box, click . Click TRUNC.

11 Click . Click Item Length.

12 Using either your keyboard or the buttons on the QTO Pay Item Formula
dialog box, enter /10)+1 in the Expression field.
When you are finished, the formula in the Expression field should look
like this:

Exercise 6: Working with Pay Item Formulas | 567


TRUNC({Item Length}/10)+1
This formula truncates the feature line length to an integer value, and
then divides it by ten. The resulting value is used as the pay item count
for the recessed pavement marker. If there is a remainder from dividing
the feature line length by ten, then one recessed pavement marker is
added to the sum.

13 Click OK.
In the Pay Item List dialog box, in the Pay Item ID number 63401-0300

row, a is displayed in the Formula cell. This indicates that a formula


has been added to this pay item.

14 Click OK twice.

Generate a detailed quantity takeoff report

1 Click Analyze tab ➤ QTO panel ➤ QTO Manager .

2 In the QTO Manager vista, in the Favorites category, select the Pay Item
ID 63407-0000 row.

3 Click Analyze tab ➤ QTO panel ➤ Takeoff.

4 In the Compute Quantity Takeoff dialog box, specify the following


parameters:
■ Report Type: Detailed

■ Report Extents: Drawing

■ Limit Extents to Alignment Station Range: Selected

■ Alignment: Side Road

■ Report Selected Pay Items Only: Selected

■ Report Station And Offset Relative To: Side Road

5 Click Compute.

6 In the Quantity Takeoff Report dialog box, in the drop-down menu, select
Detailed Count (HTML).xsl
Scroll through the report and examine the Recessed Pavement Marker
pay items. The alignment is 1090 feet long. The formula you created
divided the alignment length by ten, which resulted in the quantity of
110.

568 | Chapter 15 Material Calculation Tutorials


7 Click Close twice.

Load a different formula file

1 Click Analyze tab ➤ QTO panel ➤ QTO Manager.

2 In the QTO Manager vista, click Open ➤ Formula File.


Use the Open dialog box to navigate to an existing pay item formula file.
You can have several formula files available, and switch between them
as needed.

3 Click Cancel.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 7: Creating a Pay Item List (page 569).

Exercise 7: Creating a Pay Item List


In this exercise, you will add content to a sample pay item list, update the
categorization file, and then examine the results.
You can use this workflow to create custom pay item lists and categorization
files from existing data.
This exercise continues from Exercise 6: Working with Pay Item Formulas
(page 566).

Create a new pay item list

1 Open Quantities-7.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder


(page 759).
This drawing contains a commercial site, which consists of a building
footprint, a parking lot, and access roads.

2 Click Analyze tab ➤ QTO panel ➤ QTO Manager.

3 In Windows Explorer, navigate to the Data\Pay Item Data\Getting Started


folder (page 759).

4 Select Getting Started.csv. Right-click. Click Open With ➤ Microsoft Office


Excel.
The pay item list opens in Microsoft Excel. Notice that the Pay Item, Item
Description, and Unit_E columns correspond to the Pay Item ID,
Description, and Unit Type columns in the QTO Manager vista. You can

Exercise 7: Creating a Pay Item List | 569


use this structure to create a custom pay item list, and then save it as a
CSV file.

5 In Microsoft Excel, select row 2. Right-click. Click Insert.

6 Repeat Step 5 four times to create five empty rows.

7 Enter the following information in the new rows:


Pay Item Item Description Unit

14101-0025 SIGN, SPEED LIMIT, 25 EACH

14101-0030 SIGN, SPEED LIMIT, 30 EACH

14102-0011 SIGN, RIGHT TURN ONLY EACH

14102-0012 SIGN, RIGHT TURN OR STRAIGHT EACH

14102-0020 SIGN, LEFT TURN ONLY EACH

8 Save the pay item list in the My Civil Tutorial Data folder (page 759). Name
the pay item file Tutorial_QTO_Pay-Items.csv.

Update the pay item categorization file

1 In the QTO Manager vista, expand the Division 150 ➤ Group 151
category.

2 In Windows Explorer, navigate to the Data\Pay Item Data\Getting Started


folder (page 759).

3 Select Getting Started Categories.xml. Right-click. Click Open


With ➤ Notepad.

TIP You can use any XML editor to modify the pay item categorization file.

The categorization file opens in Notepad.

4 In Notepad, select the following lines:


<category type="value" start="" end="" title="Division 150" de
scription="Project Requirements">
<category type="value" start="" end="" title="Group 151" descrip
tion="Mobilization">
<category type="value" start="15101" end="" title="Section
15101" description="Mobilization"/>

570 | Chapter 15 Material Calculation Tutorials


</category>
Compare this content to the categories displayed in the QTO Manager
vista. The Start values specify the pay items that are in each category. For
example, pay items that start with 15101 are included in the Section
15101 category.
You will use this structure as a basis to create a new set of categories.

5 Right-click the highlighted lines. Click Copy.

6 Place the cursor at the end of the block you copied in the previous step.
Press Enter.

7 Right-click. Click Paste.

8 In the block that you copied, copy the following line:


<category type="value" start="15101" end="" title="Section
15101" description="Mobilization"/>

9 Place the cursor at the end of the line that you copied in the previous
step. Press Enter.

10 Right-click. Click Paste.

11 In the lines you pasted, replace the existing values with the following
values:
Start End Title Division

Division 140

Group 141

14101 Section 14101 Speed Limit

14102 Section 14102 Traffic Direction

12 Select the </category> line at the end of the new block. Right-click. Click
Copy.

13 Place the cursor at the end of the line you copied in the previous step.
Press Enter.

14 Right-click. Click Paste.


When you are finished, the new code should look like this:
<category type="value" start="" end="" title="Division 140" de
scription="Traffic Control">

Exercise 7: Creating a Pay Item List | 571


<category type="value" start="" end="" title="Group 141" descrip
tion="Signs">
<category type="value" start="14101" end="" title="Section
14101" description="Speed Limit"/>
<category type="value" start="14102" end="" title="Section
14102" description="Traffic Direction"/>
</category>
</category>

15 Save the pay item list in the My Civil Tutorial Data folder (page 759). Name
the pay item file Tutorial_QTO_Pay-Item_Categorization.csv.

Load the updated files into a drawing

1 In the QTO Manager vista, click Open Pay Item File.

2 In the Open Pay Item File dialog box, specify the following parameters:

NOTE The Pay Item File and Pay Item Categorization File are located in the
My Civil Tutorial Data folder (page 759).

■ Pay Item File Format: CSV (Comma Delimited)

■ Pay Item File: Tutorial_QTO_Pay-Items.csv

■ Pay Item Categorization File: Tutorial_QTO_Pay-Item_Categorization.csv

3 Click OK.

4 In the QTO Manager vista, expand the Division 140 ➤ Group


141 ➤ Section 14101 and Section 14102 categories.
Notice that the new pay items and categories are present.

572 | Chapter 15 Material Calculation Tutorials


Pipe Network Tutorials
16
These tutorials will get you started working with the pipe networks features, which you use
to design and model the flow and function of a utility system, such as a storm or sanitary
sewer.

NOTE If you have not installed AutoCAD Civil 3D to the default location, you may receive
messages in the Event Viewer indicating that pipe network part catalogs are not found.
To avoid these messages, it is recommended that you follow the exercises in the order
presented. Alternatively, you can reset the path to the catalogs by clicking Home
tab ➤ Create Design panel ➤ ➤ Set Pipe Network Catalog .

NOTE All drawings used in these tutorials are available in the tutorial drawings folder (page
759). If you want to save your work from these tutorials, save the drawings to the My Civil
Tutorial Data folder (page 759) so that you do not overwrite the original drawings.

For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Pipe Networks.

Tutorial: Creating a Pipe Network


This tutorial demonstrates how to create a pipe network using the specialized
layout tools.
You create a pipe network by selecting start and end points for pipes and
locations for structures. You can connect pipes to a structure or to another pipe.
The types of pipes and structures you can create in the pipe network are specified
by a parts list. A parts list is a subset of the entire pipe network part catalog.
When you create a pipe network, you can associate it with a default surface and
alignment. The placement and sizing of parts is adjusted as you lay out your
pipe network using the surface data and the design rules for your pipe network.
The alignment is primarily a reference for pipe network labeling.

573
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Creating Pipe
Networks.

Exercise 1: Creating a Pipe Network from a Polyline


In this exercise, you will create a pipe network from an existing polyline. In
this method of creating a pipe network, you use standard AutoCAD drawing
commands to create a polyline, and then automatically place a pipe endpoint
and structure at each polyline vertex.
You can create a pipe network from a variety of entities, including 2D and 3D
polylines, AutoCAD lines and arcs, and feature lines. In this exercise, you will
use an existing 2D polyline.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Creating Pipe
Networks from Objects.

Create a pipe network from a 2D polyline

1 Open drawing Pipe Networks-1_M.dwg, which is located in the tutorial


drawings folder (page 759).
This drawing contains existing ground and corridor surfaces, alignments
that represent intersecting road centerlines, parcels that represent property
boundaries, and a polyline that represents the proposed pipe network
layout. In the following steps, you will create an AutoCAD Civil 3D pipe
network from the polyline.

2 Click Home tab ➤ Create Design panel ➤ Pipe Network

drop-down ➤ Create Pipe Network From Object .

3 Click the left end of the blue polyline that is near the center of the road.
The end that you click specifies the beginning of the pipe network. The
network will flow away from this end.

574 | Chapter 16 Pipe Network Tutorials


4 Press Enter to accept the flow direction.

5 In the Create Pipe Network From Object dialog box, specify the following
parameters:
■ Network Name: Storm Sewer Network

■ Network Parts List: Storm Sewer

■ Pipe To Create: 450 mm RCP

■ Structure To Create: Eccentric Structure 1,500 dia 530 Frame 900 Cone

■ Surface Name: First Street

■ Alignment Name: First Street

■ Erase Existing Entity: Selected

6 Click OK.
The pipe network is displayed in plan. A structure was created at each
polyline vertex, and a pipe was created between the structures.

Exercise 1: Creating a Pipe Network from a Polyline | 575


View the pipe network in profile

1 Select a pipe and a structure.

2 Right-click. Click Select Similar.

3 Right-click. Click Draw Parts In Profile View.

4 Click the First Street Profile view.


The pipes and structures are displayed in the profile view. Notice that as
you specified, the direction of flow begins at the end station of the profile,
and proceeds toward the beginning station.

576 | Chapter 16 Pipe Network Tutorials


5 Press Esc.

Grip edit a network part

1 Select the pipe on the far right side of the profile view.

2 Click the grip. Drag the grip up to increase the invert elevation. Click
to place the grip.
You can use grips to graphically change the position of pipes and
structures in both plan and profile.

Exercise 1: Creating a Pipe Network from a Polyline | 577


Edit network parameters

1 Right-click. Click Edit Network.

2 In the Network Layout Tools toolbar, click the arrow next to .


These tools enable you to add pipes or structures to the network using
the parameters you set on this toolbar.

3 Click Pipe Network Vistas.


On the Panorama window, you use the Pipes and Structures tabs to edit
pipes parametrically.

4 On the Pipes tab, in the Pipe - (1) row, change the Start Invert Elevation
value to 40.

5 On the Network Layout Tools toolbar, click Pipe Network Vistas.


The pipe invert elevation changes to the specified value.

578 | Chapter 16 Pipe Network Tutorials


To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Creating a Pipe Network by Layout
(page 579).

Exercise 2: Creating a Pipe Network by Layout


In this exercise, you will create a pipe network using the AutoCAD Civil 3D
pipe network layout tools. The pipe network is associated with a surface and
alignment, and uses parts taken from a standard parts list.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Creating Pipe
Networks Using the Layout Tools.
This exercise continues from Exercise 1: Creating a Pipe Network from a
Polyline (page 574).

Specify pipe network creation parameters

1 Open Pipe Networks-1.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder


(page 759).
This drawing contains an existing ground surface, an alignment, and
existing ground and layout profiles for the alignment. It also contains a
surface exported from a corridor that uses the alignment as its baseline.

2 In the drawing window, zoom to the area on the alignment between


station 7+00 and 11+00.

3 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, expand the Pipe Networks collection,


then right-click Networks. Click Create Pipe Network By Layout.
Alternatively, you can click Home tab ➤ Create Design panel ➤ Pipe
Network drop-down ➤ Pipe Network Creation Tools .

4 To select the surface taken from the corridor, in the Create Pipe Network
dialog box, in the Surface Name list, select ROAD1_SURF.

5 In the Alignment Name list, select ROAD1.

6 Click OK.
The new pipe network is added to the Toolspace Prospector tab, Pipe
Networks ➤ Networks collection, and the Network Layout Tools toolbar
is displayed. The network currently is empty. You will add parts to the
network in the following steps.

Exercise 2: Creating a Pipe Network by Layout | 579


Draw contiguous pipes and structures

1 On the Network Layout Tools toolbar, in the Structure List, expand


Eccentric Cylindrical Structure. Select Eccentric Structure 48 Dia 18 Frame
24 Cone 5 Wall 6 Floor.

2 In the Pipes List, expand Concrete Pipe. Select 18 Inch Concrete Pipe.

3 Ensure that Draw Pipes and Structures is selected.

4 Ensure the Upslope/Downslope option is set to (downslope).

5 On the command line, enter ‘SO to activate the Station Offset Civil
Transparent command.

6 In the drawing window, click one of the alignment station labels to select
the alignment ROAD1.

7 On the command line, enter 700 as the station.

8 On the command line, enter -15 as the offset.


A catch basin is placed at the specified point. The offset is designed to
position the catch basin so that its outside edge is flush with the outside
edge of the road shoulder.

9 With the Station Offset command still active, create another structure
by entering 800 for the station and -15 as the offset.
A second catch basin is created. The two structures are connected by a
pipe of the type specified in the Pipe list. The pipes follow a downhill
slope based on the corridor surface terrain and the design rules for the
type and size of pipe. Later, you will view the vertical placement of the
pipes you created in a profile view.

10 To change the direction of the vertical pipe network layout, toggle the

Upslope/Downslope button to .

11 With the Station Offset command still active, create additional structures
with an offset of -15 at stations 9+50, 11+00, and 12+50.
As you place the catch basins, connecting pipes are created with slope
values specified by the design rules and the Upslope/Downslope setting.

12 Press Enter to end the Station Offset command.

580 | Chapter 16 Pipe Network Tutorials


Draw a curved pipe with a structure

1 Pan until you can see the segment of the alignment between station
12+50 and Station 13+00.

2 With the drawing command still active, on the command line, enter C
to begin creating a curved pipe.

3 On the command line, enter ‘SO.

4 Create a structure at the end of the curved pipe by entering 1300 for the
station and -15 as the offset.

5 Press Enter to end the Station Offset command.

6 Press Enter to end the drawing command.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 3: Adding Parts to a Pipe Network


(page 581).

Exercise 3: Adding Parts to a Pipe Network


In this exercise, you will add to your pipe network by creating pipes and
structures that connect to existing structures.
Whenever you are laying out a pipe network, you have the option of
connecting to existing pipe network parts. AutoCAD Civil 3D gives you visual
cues when the pipe or structure you are creating will either connect to an
existing object or break a pipe to create a junction.
In the previous exercise, you used the Draw Pipes And Structures tool to place
structures and pipes simultaneously. In this exercise, you will add catch basins
using the Draw Structures Only tool, and then connect the catch basins to
network using the Draw Pipes Only tool.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Adding a Part to
a Pipe Network.
This exercise continues from Exercise 2: Creating a Pipe Network by Layout
(page 579).

NOTE This exercise uses Pipe Networks-1.dwg with the modifications you made
in the previous exercise, or you can open Pipe Networks-1B.dwg from the tutorial
drawings folder (page 759).

Exercise 3: Adding Parts to a Pipe Network | 581


Add structures to the pipe network

1 Click Pipes menu ➤ Edit Pipe Network. In the drawing, click a pipe
network part.
Alternatively, you can right-click a pipe network part, and then click Edit
Network.

2 In the Structures list, ensure that Eccentric Cylindrical


Structure ➤ Eccentric Structure 48 Dia 18 Frame 24 Cone 5 Wall 6 Floor
is selected.

3 Toggle the Upslope/Downslope option to (downslope).

4 Click Structures Only.

5 On the command line, enter ‘SO.

6 Click a label on the ROAD1 alignment to select it.

7 Create a structure by entering 960 for the station and 15 as the offset.

8 Repeat Step 7 to add structures that are offset 15 feet from stations 11+10,
12+60, and 13+10.

9 Press Enter twice to exit the Station Offset and Add Structures commands.

Add pipes to the pipe network

1 In the Pipes list, ensure that 18 Inch Concrete Pipe is selected.

2 On the Network Layout Tools toolbar, click Pipes Only.

3 Place the cursor over the structure that is offset 15 from station 9+60.

A connection marker that indicates that the pipe can be attached to


the structure is displayed.

4 With the connection marker displayed, click the structure to connect the
new pipe to it.

5 Place the cursor over the structure that is offset -15 feet from station 9+50.
With the connection marker displayed, click the structure to connect the
new pipe to it.

6 On the command line, enter S to select a new start point.

582 | Chapter 16 Pipe Network Tutorials


7 Repeat Steps 3 through 6 to add pipes between the structures that are
offset 15 feet from stations 11+10, 12+60, and 13+10 and the main
network.

8 Press Enter twice to exit the Station Offset and Add Pipes commands.

To continue to the next tutorial, go to Changing Pipe Network Properties


(page 583).

Tutorial: Changing Pipe Network Properties


This tutorial demonstrates how to add parts to your pipe network parts list.
You will also learn how to change the surface, alignment, and design rules
that are referenced when you are laying out a pipe network.
In the previous tutorial, the storm system parts you used were designed for a
roadway design and took their placement and elevation from the road surface.
In this tutorial, you create a branch for the pipe network that travels off the
road surface into unfinished terrain, using manholes to connect the pipes and
terminating in a headwall.
In addition to selecting different structures, pipes, and layout modes, you can
also use the Network Layout Tools toolbar to change the configuration of your
pipe network as you work. As you create your design, you can switch to a
different parts list, add parts to the parts list, or change the referenced surface
and alignment.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Editing Pipe Network
Settings.

Exercise 1: Adding Parts to the Parts List


In this exercise, you will add a new part to the parts list by selecting a part
family and size from the pipe network part catalog.
This exercise demonstrates how to access your parts lists from the Network
Layout Tools toolbar. You can also create, view, and edit parts lists using the
Toolspace Settings tab.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Part Catalog and
Parts List.

Tutorial: Changing Pipe Network Properties | 583


Add a part family to the pipe network parts list

1 Open Pipe Networks-2.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder


(page 759).

2 Click Pipe Networks tab ➤ Modify panel ➤ Edit Pipe Network .

3 In the drawing window, click a pipe network part.

4 On the Network Layout Tools toolbar, click .

5 In the Select Parts List dialog box, click Edit Current Selection.

6 In the Network Parts List dialog box, on the Structures tab, right-click
the parts list name in the tree view. Click Add Part Family.

7 In the Part Catalog dialog box, under Inlet-Outlets, select Concrete


Rectangular Headwall. Click OK.
The new part family is added to the tree view.

8 On the Structures tab, in the tree view, notice that no part sizes are
available in the Concrete Rectangular Headwall family. You will add them
in the following steps.

9 Right-click Concrete Rectangular Headwall, and click Add Part Size.

10 In the Part Size Creator dialog box, click the Headwall Base Width row.
In the Add All Sizes cell, select the check box. Click OK.

11 Expand Concrete Rectangular Headwall.


Notice that all available part sizes were added to the tree view. Notice
that for each part in the list you can select an object style, design rules,
and a render material.

12 On the Pipes tab, in the tree view, right-click Concrete Pipe. Click Add
Part Size.

13 In the Part Size Creator dialog box, click the Inner Pipe Diameter row.
Click the Value cell. From the value list, select 24.000000. Click OK.
The new part size is added to the tree view.

14 Click OK to close the Network Parts List dialog box.

15 Click OK to close the Select Parts List dialog box.

584 | Chapter 16 Pipe Network Tutorials


To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Changing the Surface, Alignment,
and Rules Configuration (page 585).

Exercise 2: Changing the Surface, Alignment, and Rules


Configuration
In this exercise, you will change the surface and alignment that are referenced
by the pipe network parts. You will also examine the design rules for a part.
AutoCAD Civil 3D uses the referenced surface, alignment, and rules to
determine the size and placement of pipe network parts. For example, if you
create a manhole structure, the top rim of the structure is typically
automatically placed at the elevation of the referenced surface. If the design
rules for the manhole specify an adjustment value for rim of the structure,
the rim is placed at the surface elevation plus or minus the adjustment value.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Part Rules.
This exercise continues from Exercise 1: Adding Parts to the Parts List (page
583).

Change the referenced surface

NOTE This exercise uses Pipe Networks-2.dwg with the modifications you made
in the previous exercise, or you can open Pipe Networks-2B.dwg from the tutorial
drawings folder (page 759).

1 If the Network Layout Tools toolbar is not already open, click Pipe
Networks tab ➤ Modify panel ➤ Edit Pipe Network . In the drawing,
click a pipe network part.

2 On the Network Layout Tools toolbar, click .

3 In the Select Surface dialog box, select EG. Click OK.

Change the referenced alignment

1 Click .

2 In the Select Alignment dialog box, select XC_STORM.

3 Click OK.

Exercise 2: Changing the Surface, Alignment, and Rules Configuration | 585


Change the rule set

1 Click .

2 In the Select Parts List dialog box, click Edit Current Selection.

3 In the Network Parts List dialog box, on the Structures tab, expand
Eccentric Cylindrical Structure. Click Eccentric Structure 48 Dia 18 Frame
24 Cone 5 Wall 6 Floor.

4 In the Rules cell, click .

5 In the Structure Rule Set dialog box, click Edit Current Selection.

6 In the Structure Rule Set dialog box, click the Rules tab.
The selected design rules specify that the structure has a maximum drop
value of 3.000’ and maximum pipe diameter or width of 4.000’. You can
modify these values, or click Add Rule to add another rule.

7 Click Cancel twice.

8 On the Pipes tab, expand Standard then Concrete Pipe. Click 24 Inch
Concrete Pipe.

9 In the Rules cell, click . In the Pipe Rules Set dialog box, click
Edit Current Selection. In the Pipe Rule Set dialog box, click the Rules
tab.
The selected design rules allow pipes of a maximum length of 200 feet,
which is typical of a pipe layout that travels through open terrain.

10 Click OK four times.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 3: Adding a Branch to a Pipe Network


(page 586).

Exercise 3: Adding a Branch to a Pipe Network


In this exercise, you will add a branch to the existing pipe network layout and
use the part status to review and edit the layout.
In addition to indicator icons that indicate where parts can be connected, you
will see icons when the pipe or structure you are adding to the layout will

586 | Chapter 16 Pipe Network Tutorials


break an existing pipe. The pipes created by the break are automatically
connected to the new structure or pipe.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Adding a Part to
a Pipe Network.
This exercise continues from Exercise 2: Changing the Surface, Alignment,
and Rules Configuration (page 585).

Add a headwall structure to the pipe network

NOTE This exercise uses Pipe Networks-2B.dwg with the modifications you made
in the previous exercise.

1 If the Network Layout Tools toolbar is not already open, click Pipe
Networks tab ➤ Modify panel ➤ Edit Pipe Network . In the drawing
window, click a pipe network part.

2 On the Network Layout Tools toolbar, ensure that the surface EG and
the alignment XC_STORM are selected.
For more information, see Exercise 2: Changing the Surface, Alignment,
and Rules Configuration (page 585).

3 In the Structures list, expand the Concrete Rectangular Headwall


collection. Select 44 x 6 x 37 Inch Concrete Rectangular Headwall.

4 Click Structures Only.

5 In the drawing window, zoom to station 4+00 on XC_STORM.

6 Click near the alignment to place the headwall structure.

Connect the headwall structure to the pipe network

1 On the Network Layout Tools toolbar, click Pipes Only.

2 In the Pipes list, expand the Concrete Pipe collection. Select 24 Inch
Concrete Pipe.

3 Toggle the Upslope/Downslope button to Upslope.

4 Hover the cursor over the rectangular headwall structure. With the
connection marker displayed, click to connect the pipe.

5 Pan to the structure that is offset -15 feet from station 8+00 on ROAD1.

Exercise 3: Adding a Branch to a Pipe Network | 587


6 Hover the cursor over the structure. With the connection marker
displayed, click the structure to connect the pipe.

7 Press Enter to end the command.

Rotate the headwall structure

1 Pan to the headwall at the end of the branch. Click the headwall to select
it.

2 Use the circular editing grip to rotate the headwall until it is perpendicular
to the attached pipe.

3 Press Esc to deselect the headwall.

Validate that design rules have been met

1 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, expand Pipe Networks ➤ Networks


➤ Network - (1). Click Pipes.

2 In the item view, in the row for Pipe - (10), place your cursor over the
circular icon in the Status cell to view the design rules that have not been
met.
The pipe exceeds the maximum length and maximum cover found in
the rules. In the next few steps, you will correct the length by adding a
structure to the middle of the pipe span.

3 Right-click the row for Pipe - (10). Click Zoom To.


The full extents of the pipe are displayed in the drawing window.

Insert a structure in the middle of a pipe

1 Click Pipes menu ➤ Edit Pipe Network. Click a pipe network part.

2 On the Network Layout Tools toolbar, in the Structures list, select


Eccentric Cylindrical Structure ➤ Eccentric Structure 48 Dia 18 Frame
24 Cone 5 Wall 6 Floor.

3 Click Structures Only.

4 In the drawing window, pan to station 2+00 on alignment XC_STORM.

NOTE You must turn off OSNAP to complete the following steps.

5 Place your cursor over a location on the pipe that is close to station 2+00.

588 | Chapter 16 Pipe Network Tutorials


A break pipe marker is displayed to indicate that the pipe will
be severed by placing the structure there.

6 With the break pipe marker displayed, click to place the manhole at the
location, and create two pipes from the one.

7 Press Enter to end the command.

To continue to the next tutorial, go to Viewing and Editing Pipe Networks


(page 589).

Tutorial: Viewing and Editing Pipe Networks


This tutorial demonstrates how you can view and edit the parts of your pipe
network in profile and section views.
You can draw some or all of the parts of a pipe network in a profile view. After
the parts are drawn in a view, you can adjust their vertical layout by either
grip editing or directly editing the values found in tabular format in the part
properties dialog box. You also can add tables to organize pipe network part
data, and label the parts to make them easy to identify.
When you create a section view, any pipe network parts that are located at
the cross-section are drawn in the view.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Editing Pipe
Networks.

Exercise 1: Drawing Pipe Network Parts in a Profile View


In this exercise, you will draw the pipe network parts in a profile view.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Displaying Pipe
Networks in Profile View.
This exercise uses the pipe network and branch you created in the Changing
Pipe Network Properties (page 583) tutorial.

Tutorial: Viewing and Editing Pipe Networks | 589


Draw pipe network parts in a profile view

1 Open Pipe Networks-3.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder


(page 759).

2 In the drawing window, zoom to a section of the pipe network.

3 Click a pipe to select it. Right-click. Click Draw Parts In Profile View.

4 Zoom to the profile for the alignment that represents the road (PV - 1).
Click the profile grid.
The pipe or structure you selected is drawn in the profile view.

5 Press Esc to deselect the pipe.

6 Select the profile view grid. Right-click. Click Profile View Properties.

7 In the Profile View Properties dialog box, on the Pipe Networks tab, select
the check box in the Draw column for each part entry in the pipe network
except for Pipe - (10), Pipe - (10)(1), Structure (11), and Structure (12).

8 Click OK.
All the pipe network parts you selected in Profile View Properties are
displayed in the profile view.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Adding Labels to Pipe Network


Parts (page 590).

Exercise 2: Adding Labels to Pipe Network Parts


In this exercise, you will add labels to the pipe network parts drawn in both
plan and profile views.

NOTE For more detailed tutorials on labels, go to the Labels and Tables Tutorials
(page 683).

For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Labeling Pipe
Networks.
This exercise continues from Exercise 1: Drawing Pipe Network Parts in a
Profile View (page 589).

590 | Chapter 16 Pipe Network Tutorials


Add labels to pipe network parts in a profile

NOTE This exercise uses Pipe Networks-3.dwg with the modifications you made
in the previous exercise.

1 Zoom to the pipe network parts drawn in the profile view.

2 Click Annotate tab ➤ Labels & Tables panel ➤ Add Labels menu ➤ Pipe
Network ➤ Add Pipe Network Labels .

3 In the Add Labels dialog box, specify the following parameters:


■ Label Type: Single Part Profile

■ Pipe Label Style: Standard

4 Click Add.

5 In the drawing window, click Pipe - (1), which is between stations 7+00
and 8+00 of the layout profile displayed in the profile view.
The pipe is labeled with its description. In the following steps, you will
create a label style that displays the elevation of the start invert of the
pipe.

Create a pipe label style

1 In the Add Labels dialog box, next to the Pipe Label Style list, click the

arrow next to . Click Copy Current Selection.

2 In the Label Style Composer dialog box, on the Information tab, for
Name, enter Start Invert Elevation.

3 On the Layout tab, click the Contents value under Text. Click .

4 In the Text Component Editor dialog box, on the Properties tab, in the
Properties list, select Start Invert Elevation.

5 Click .

6 In the text editor window, click the <[Description(CP)]> property field.


Press Delete.

7 Your label content should look like this:

Exercise 2: Adding Labels to Pipe Network Parts | 591


8 Click OK twice.

9 In the Add Labels dialog box, specify the following parameters:


■ Label Type: Single Part Profile

■ Pipe Label Style: Start Invert Elevation

10 Click Add.

11 In the profile view, click Pipe - (2), which is between stations 8+00 and
9+50 of the layout profile.

12 Press Esc to end the add label command.

13 Click the label text to select the label.

14 Click the diamond-shaped label edit grip to make it active. Click a new
location for the label at the start end of the pipe, which is the end located
next to station 8+00.
The start and end of a pipe is determined using the direction in which
the pipe was drawn.

15 Click the square label edit grip to make it active. Click a new location for
the label text that moves it off the pipe.

16 Press Esc to deselect the label.


Next, you will add a spanning label to a series of two pipes in plan view.

Add labels to a single pipe network part in plan view

1 Pan and zoom until you can clearly see the North-South pipe run along
the XC_STORM alignment.

2 In the Add Labels dialog box, specify the following parameters:


■ Label Type: Spanning Pipes Plan

■ Pipe Label Style: 2D Length - Total Span

3 Click Add.

4 Click both pipes along the XC_STORM alignment, then press Enter.

5 When prompted, click a location along the pipe span to place the label.
The span label is placed on the pipe run in the location you specified. To
see which pipes are included in the span, hover the cursor over the label
to highlight the pipes.

592 | Chapter 16 Pipe Network Tutorials


Add labels to a multiple pipe network parts in plan view

1 Pan and zoom until you can clearly see the plan view of the pipe network.

2 In the Add Labels dialog box, specify the following parameters:


■ Label Type: Entire Network Plan

■ Pipe Label Style: Standard

■ Structure Label Style: Structure Name

3 Click Add.

4 Click a part in the pipe network. All pipes and structures are labeled using
the styles you selected.

5 In the Add Labels dialog box, click Close.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 3: Editing Pipe Network Parts in a


Profile View (page 593).

Exercise 3: Editing Pipe Network Parts in a Profile View


In this exercise, you will edit the pipe network parts drawn in a profile view
using editing grips and by directly editing the part properties.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Editing Pipe
Networks Using Grips.
This exercise continues from Exercise 2: Adding Labels to Pipe Network Parts
(page 590).

Grip edit pipe network parts in profile view

NOTE This exercise uses Pipe Networks-3.dwg with the modifications you made
in the previous exercise, or you can open Pipe Networks-3B from the tutorial
drawings folder (page 759).

1 In the profile view for ROAD1 (PV - (1)), click Pipe - (4), which connects
the structures that are offset from stations 11+00 and 12+50 on ROAD1.

2 Click the square editing grip at the center of the pipe to make it active.
Click a new vertical location for the pipe so the start invert elevation is
approximately 650 feet.

Exercise 3: Editing Pipe Network Parts in a Profile View | 593


NOTE The horizontal grid line immediately below the pipe indicates 650
feet.

As you move your cursor, the tooltip displays the current elevation of
the active grip.

3 Click the triangular grip at the start (downslope) end of the pipe to make
it active. Click a new position for the pipe end so that it aligns with the
end invert elevation of Pipe - (3), which is between stations 11+00 and
9+50.

Parametrically edit pipe network parts in profile view

1 With Pipe - (4) still selected, right-click. Click Pipe Properties.

2 In the Pipe Properties dialog box, on the Part Properties tab, click the
Start Invert Elevation value to select it. Press Ctrl+C to copy the value.

3 Click OK.

4 Press Esc to deselect Pipe - (4).

5 Click Pipe - (3) to select it. Right-click. Click Pipe Properties.

6 In the Pipe Properties dialog box, on the Part Properties tab, under
Geometry, click the End Invert Elevation value to select it. Press Ctrl+V
to replace the value with the one copied from Pipe - (4).

7 Click OK.
Pipe - (3) and Pipe - (4) now connect to Structure - (4) at the same invert
elevation.

8 Press Esc to deselect the pipe.

TIP You also can use OSNAPs to quickly match pipe start and end elevations.
For more information, see the Using Basic Functionality tutorial exercise (page
15).

Further exploration: Repeat the editing procedures with Pipe - (5), which
is between stations 12+50 and 13+00, to create a continuous flow line
for the pipes.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 4: Overriding the Style of a Pipe


Network Part in a Profile View (page 595).

594 | Chapter 16 Pipe Network Tutorials


Exercise 4: Overriding the Style of a Pipe Network Part
in a Profile View
In this exercise, you will change the style used by pipe network parts in a
profile view using override settings found in the profile view properties.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Displaying Pipe
Networks in Profile Views.
This exercise continues from Exercise 3: Editing Pipe Network Parts in a Profile
View (page 593).

Override the style of an object in a profile view

NOTE This exercise uses Pipe Networks-3B.dwg with the modifications you made
in the previous exercise.

1 In the drawing, zoom to the profile view of ROAD1 (PV- (1)).

2 Click the profile view to select it. Right-click. Click Profile View Properties.

3 On the Pipe Networks tab, click the Pipe - (6) row.

4 Scroll to the right until you can see the Style Override value.

5 Click the Style Override cell.

6 In the Pick Pipe Style dialog box, select Dotted. Click OK.

7 Repeat steps 5 and 6 to override style for Pipe - (7), Pipe - (8), and Pipe -
(9).

8 Click OK.
The pipes that cross the road are now displayed using dotted lines, making
it easier to view and edit the main pipe segment. You may have to enter
REGEN on the command line to see the style change.

Change the structure style display in profile

1 Pan and zoom until you can clearly see the structure at station 8+00.
Notice that there is no indication of the pipe segment that travels along
the XC-STORM alignment. In the next few steps, you will change the
structure style to display where a perpendicular pipe connects to a
structure.

2 Click the structure to select it. Right-click. Select Edit Structure Style.

Exercise 4: Overriding the Style of a Pipe Network Part in a Profile View | 595
3 In the Structure Style dialog box, on the Display tab, in the View Direction
list, select Profile. Make the Structure Pipe Outlines component visible
and change its color to red.

4 Click OK. Notice that a red circle now appears in the structure. The red
circle indicates the location of a perpendicular connection of a pipe that
is not displayed in the profile view.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 5: Viewing Pipe Network Parts in a


Section View (page 596).

Exercise 5: Viewing Pipe Network Parts in a Section View


In this exercise, you will view the pipe network parts in a section view.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Displaying Pipe
Networks in Section Views.
This exercise continues from Exercise 4: Overriding the Style of a Pipe Network
Part in a Profile View (page 595).

Create a sample line

NOTE This exercise uses Pipe Networks-3B.dwg with the modifications you made
in the previous exercise, or you can open Pipe Networks-3C from the tutorial
drawings folder (page 759).

1 In the drawing, zoom to the area around station 12+60 on the ROAD1
alignment.

2 Click Home tab ➤ Profile & Section Views panel ➤ Sample Lines .

3 Press Enter when prompted to select an alignment.

4 In the Select Alignment dialog box, select ROAD1. Click OK.

5 In the Create Sample Line Group dialog box, click OK.

6 On the command line, enter 1260.

7 For the left swath width, enter 20.

8 For the right swath width, enter 20.


The sample line is created at the specified station.

9 Press Enter to end the sample line creation command.

596 | Chapter 16 Pipe Network Tutorials


Create a section view

1 Click Home tab ➤ Profile & Section Views panel ➤ Section Views
drop-down ➤ Create Section View .

2 In the Create Section View wizard, click Section Display Options.

3 On the Section Display Options page, in the Select Sections To Draw list,
in the ROAD1_SURF row, click the Change Labels cell.

4 In the Select Style Set dialog box, select No Labels. Click OK.

5 Repeat Steps 3 and 4 to apply the No Labels label style set to the entries
in the Change Labels column.

6 Click Create Section View.

7 Zoom and pan to a location for the section view.

8 Click to create the section view at your selected location.

9 If a warning event is displayed, close the Event Viewer window.

10 Zoom and pan to the section view to see the pipe network parts in the
section view.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 6: Creating Pipe and Structure Tables


(page 597).

Exercise 6: Creating Pipe and Structure Tables


In this exercise, you will create a table that displays information about the
structures in a pipe network. Then, you will create a table style to display other
information.
The procedures for creating pipe and structure tables are very similar. While
this exercise focuses on structure tables, you can use the same procedure to
create pipe tables.

NOTE For more detailed tutorials on tables, go to the Labels and Tables Tutorials
(page 683).

For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Adding Pipe Tables
and Adding Structure Tables.
This exercise continues from Exercise 5: Viewing Pipe Network Parts in a
Section View (page 596).

Exercise 6: Creating Pipe and Structure Tables | 597


To create a structure table

NOTE This exercise uses Pipe Networks-3C.dwg with the modifications you made
in the previous exercise.

1 Click Annotate tab ➤ Labels & Tables panel ➤ Add Tables menu ➤ Pipe
Network ➤ Add Structure .

2 In the Structure Table Creation dialog box, select By Network and click
OK.

3 Pan to a clear area in the drawing window and click to place the table.

4 Zoom and pan to the structure table. Examine the contents of the table.
Next, you will change the contents of the table by creating a table style.

Change the table contents by creating a new style

1 Select the table by clicking one of the rulings. Right-click the structure
table and select Table Properties.

2 In the Table Properties dialog box, under Table Style, click the down

arrow next to . Click Copy Current Selection.

3 In the Table Style dialog box, on the Information tab, change the Name
to Structure Stations and Details.

4 On the Data Properties tab, specify the following parameters:


■ Sort Data: Selected

■ Sorting Column: 1

■ Order: Ascending
These settings ensure that the table rows are sorted in ascending order
by the first column.

5 In the Structure area, click to add a new column to the table.

6 Double-click the new column’s heading cell.

7 In the Text Component Editor dialog box, in the preview pane, enter
Station. Click OK.

8 In the Table Style dialog box, in the Structure area, double-click in the
Column Value cell in the Station column.

598 | Chapter 16 Pipe Network Tutorials


9 In the Table Cell Components dialog box, in the Text Contents row, click

in the Value cell. Click .

10 In the Text Component Editor dialog box, select the data that appears
in the preview area and press Delete.

11 In the preview area, enter STATION = .

12 In the Properties list, select Structure Station. Change the Precision value

to 1 then click .

13 Click OK twice.

14 In the Table Style dialog box, click the heading cell of the Station column,
and then drag the Station column over the Structure Details column. The
Station column is placed between the Structure Name and Structure
Details columns.

15 Click OK twice.
The table now displays the station at which each structure is located.

Exercise 6: Creating Pipe and Structure Tables | 599


600
Part Builder Tutorials
17
These tutorials demonstrate how to work with the Part Builder features, which you use to
design and model parts (pipes and structures) that are used in pipe networks.

NOTE If you have not installed AutoCAD Civil 3D to the default location, you may receive
messages in the Event Viewer, indicating that pipe network part catalogs are not found.
To avoid these messages, it is recommended that you follow the exercises in the order
presented. Alternatively, you can reset the path to the catalogs by clicking Home
tab ➤ Create Design panel ➤ ➤ Set Pipe Network Catalog .

NOTE All drawings used in these tutorials are available in the tutorial drawings folder (page
759). If you want to save your work from these tutorials, save the drawings to the My Civil
Tutorial Data folder (page 759) so that you do not overwrite the original drawings.

For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Understanding Part Builder.

Tutorial: Creating a Cylindrical Manhole Structure


This tutorial demonstrates how use Part Builder to create a cylindrical-shaped
storm drainage manhole structure. It will go through the steps to define the
new part in the structure catalog, define the manhole geometry, create profiles,
and then establish parameters to control the sizing and dimensions of the
manhole.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Understanding Part
Builder.

Exercise 1: Defining the New Part in the Structure Catalog


In this exercise, you will begin creating a cylindrical-shaped manhole structure
in Part Builder by creating a new part chapter, and a new part family within the

601
Structure catalog. You will also configure work planes in the Part Builder
parametric modeling environment so that you can proceed with modeling
the part in the subsequent exercises.
Because you will be working within the Part Builder environment, you do not
need to have a drawing open to begin this exercise. However, the AutoCAD
Civil 3D tutorial drawings folder (page 759) includes a drawing that contains
the completed part—in this case, a cylindrical manhole structure. If desired,
before or after completing this exercise, you can open the Part Builder-1b.dwg
file to see what this finished part looks like.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Understanding
Part Builder.

1 Click Home tab ➤ Create Design panel ➤ ➤ Part Builder .

2 In the Getting Started – Catalog Screen dialog box, in the Part Catalog
list, select Structure. Select the Junction Structure With Frames folder,
and then click New Parametric Part. The New Part box dialog is displayed.

3 For Name, enter “Cylindrical Manhole1.” Click in the box next to


Description. The description matches the name by default. Click OK. The
Part Builder parametric modeling environment is opened.

4 Expand Part Configuration and change the following:


■ Undefined Part Type: change this to Junction Structure

■ Undefined: leave this as Undefined

■ Undefined Bounded Shape: change this to Cylinder

The Part is configured as a cylinder shape with the properties of a junction


structure.

5 Expand Modeling, and then right-click Work Planes and then click Add
Work Plane. The Create Work Plane dialog box is displayed.

6 Click Top, and then click OK. The Top work plane is created.

7 Expand Work Planes. Right-click Top Plane ➤ Rename, and change the
name to Rim.
This work plane will be the rim elevation of the new structure.

8 Click Save Part Family. Click Yes. The part is validated and saved.
Note that additional parameters are displayed under the Model Parameters
and Size Parameters to reflect the Part Configuration settings established
in step 1.

602 | Chapter 17 Part Builder Tutorials


To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Defining the Manhole Geometry
(page 603).

Exercise 2: Defining the Manhole Geometry


In this exercise, you will define the geometry of the manhole by creating a
simple schematic of the structure profile. You will build this portion with
dimensions that can be modified from within AutoCAD Civil 3D when the
part is in use.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Understanding
Part Builder.
This exercise continues from Exercise 1: Defining the New Part in the Structure
Catalog (page 601).

1 Click View tab ➤ Views panel ➤ Front.


The view of your Part Builder drawing area changes so that you see the
Rim work plane from a front view.

2 Expand Modeling. Right-click Work Planes and then click Add Work
Plane. The Create Work Plane dialog box is displayed.

3 Click Offset. Name the work plane Top of Riser 1 then click OK.

4 The command line asks you to Select reference work plane. Click the
yellow bounding square of the Rim work plane.
The command line asks you to Select Offset from work plane. Turn on
ORTHO. Select a location approximately 12” lower than the Rim work
plane in the negative Z direction, and press enter. In later steps, you will
establish a more precise offset by equating these distances with structure
parameters. A second work plane is displayed approximately 12” below
the first work plane.

Exercise 2: Defining the Manhole Geometry | 603


5 Repeat Steps 2 through 4 to create the following additional work planes,
using the following approximate offsets from the work plane directly
above each one:
■ Top of Cone: 12”

■ Top of Riser 2: 24”

■ Top of Barrel: 85”

■ Bottom of Structure: 200”

The new work planes are displayed. The new parameters are displayed
under Model Parameters showing you the work plane offsets.

6 Change your view to be oriented above the Rim work plane. Expand
Work Planes, right-click Rim and then click Set View. The view is oriented
to be above the Rim work plane.

7 Add a circular profile to represent the diameter of the frame. Right-click


the Rim work plane ➤ Add Profile ➤ Circular. At the command prompt,
select a center point for the profile at the approximate center of the work
plane and a radius of 12”, similar to how you would draw an AutoCAD
circle. A circular profile is displayed, and an entry for a circular profile is
displayed under the Rim work plane.

8 Expand Work Planes, right-click Rim ➤ Add Geometry ➤ Point. Place


a point at the approximate center of your circular profile. A point is
displayed at the approximate center of the circular profile.

9 Constrain the profile so that the point will be forced to always be located
at the center of the profile. Right-click the Rim work plane ➤ Add
Constraints ➤ Concentric. The command line prompts you to select a
first geometry and a second geometry. Select the point and the circular
profile. The point moves to be at the center of the circular profile, and a
concentric constraint is displayed under the Rim work plane.

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10 Add a diameter dimension that you can later use as a structure parameter.
Right-click the Rim work plane ➤ Add Dimension ➤ Diameter. The
command line prompts you to select circle or arc geometry. Select the
circular profile on the screen. The command line prompts you to select
a dimension position. Select a location on your screen that is close to the
profile, but out of your way. A diameter dimension is displayed on screen
as well as under your Model Parameters. The actual drawn diameter and
dimension value are unimportant at this time.

11 Draw a circular profile on the Top of Riser 1 work plane. Right-click the
Top of Riser 1 work plane, and then click Add Profile ➤ Circular.
Following the same procedure as Step 7, draw a circular profile. You can
use your center OSNAP to ensure that the center of this profile matches
the center of the profile from the Rim work plane. Set the radius to be
just slightly larger than the Rim work plane circular profile to ease
selection of this profile. The actual radius is not important at this time.
A circular profile is displayed.

12 Add a diameter dimension to the circular profile on the Top of Riser 1


work plane. Right-click the Top of Riser 1 work plane, and then click Add
Dimension ➤ Diameter. Follow the same procedure as step 10 to place
the dimension. A diameter dimension is displayed for your second circular
profile.

13 Repeat the previous two steps to create a circular profile and corresponding
dimension on the Top of Cone work plane. You have three circular profiles
with appropriate dimensions. Your dimensions may look different than
the following illustration.

14 Repeat steps 11 and 12 to create a circular profile and corresponding


dimension for the Top of Riser 2 work plane; however, this time, make
the profile radius approximately twice as large (approximately 24”
radius/48” diameter). You should have four circular profiles displayed,
and four corresponding dimensions displayed in the modeling area, and
under Model Parameters node.

Exercise 2: Defining the Manhole Geometry | 605


15 Click View tab ➤ Views panel ➤ Front. Four profiles from front view are
displayed.

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16 Add a transition between the Rim circular profile and the Top of Riser 1
circular profile. This represents the manhole cover and frame. Right-click
Modifiers and then click Add Transition. The command line prompts
you to Select Start Profile. On the screen, select the circular profile on the
Rim work plane. The command line prompts you to Select End Profile.
On the screen, select the circular profile on the Top of Riser 1 work plane.
A transition is displayed similar to the following illustration:

17 Right-click the transition on the screen, and then click Display Order ➤
Send to Back. Add a transition between the Top of Riser 1 circular profile
and the Top of Cone circular profile. This represents the manhole cover
and frame. Right-click Modifiers and then click Add Transition. The
command line prompts you to Select Start Profile. On the screen, select
the circular profile on the Top of Riser 1 work plane. The command line
prompts you to Select End Profile. On the screen, select the circular profile
on the Top of Cone work plane.
Repeat the process to create a transition between the circular profiles on
the Top of Cone work plane and the Top of Riser 2 work plane. Remember
that you may have to use Display Order ➤ Send to Back to send the
transitions to the back, so that you can choose the profiles. To do this,
right-click the transition on the screen, and then click Display Order ➤
Send to Back. Transitions are displayed similar to the following
illustration:

Exercise 2: Defining the Manhole Geometry | 607


These transitions stay dynamic to profiles used to create them, including
adjustments to work plane offsets, and diameter dimensions.

18 Switch your view back to an overhead view by selecting the Top of Barrel
work plane, right-clicking and choosing Set View. Your view switches to
an overhead view in relation to this work plane.

19 Make two circular profiles with corresponding dimensions on the Top of


Barrel work plane. Use steps 11 and 12 for reference. The first should be
approximately the same size as the profile on the Top of Riser 2 work
plane (24”R/48”D), the second should be approximately twice as large
(48”R/ 96”D). Two circular profiles are displayed on your screen. Two
corresponding dimensions are displayed both on screen and under Model
Parameters.

20 Make one circular profile with a corresponding dimension on the Bottom


of Structure work plane. Use steps 11 and 12 for reference. The profile
should be approximately the same size as the larger profile on the Top
of Barrel work plane (48”R/ 96”D). You should now have seven (7) total
circular profiles and corresponding dimensions both on screen and under
Model Parameters. Remember that these diameters are approximate at
this point. The ones you created may not look exactly like the ones
displayed in this tutorial.

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21 Change your view to a Front view. The stack of work planes and the
transitions created in step 17 are displayed.

22 Following the same methodology for the first batch of transitions created
in steps 16 and 17, add transitions between the Top of Riser 2 Profile,
and the smaller Top of Barrel profile, then the larger Top of Barrel profile
and the Bottom of Structure profile. (You may have to use Draw Order
to send certain profiles to the back, in order to choose the correct one
for each transition.) The model you created should now look similar to
the following illustration:

Exercise 2: Defining the Manhole Geometry | 609


23 Change your view to SW isometric.

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24 Change your visual style to Conceptual.

Exercise 2: Defining the Manhole Geometry | 611


25 Change your visual style back to 2D wireframe, then change your view
back to Top view.

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To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 3: Matching Offsets and Dimensions
to Parameters (page 613).

Exercise 3: Matching Offsets and Dimensions to


Parameters
In this exercise, you will match the work plane offsets and diameter dimensions
to the parameters. The next step, though, is to create a few more structure
parameters.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Understanding
Part Builder.
This exercise continues from Exercise 2: Defining the Manhole Geometry
(page 603).

1 Expand Model Parameters and Size Parameters.


Note that there are entries listed for the work plane offsets, structure
parameters and body diameter dimensions.

Exercise 3: Matching Offsets and Dimensions to Parameters | 613


2 Right-click Size Parameters and then click Add. The Edit Part Sizes dialog
box is displayed, along with the New Parameter dialog box.

3 Select Structure Riser Height 1 and press OK. A new parameter of SRZ1 is
displayed in the Edit Part Sizes dialog box.

4 In the Edit Part Sizes dialog box, click New to display the New Parameter
dialog box. Add the following additional parameters using the New
Parameter dialog box:
■ Structure Riser Height 2

■ Inner Structure Diameter

■ Frame Diameter

■ Frame Height

■ Cone Height

■ Slab Thickness

■ Barrel Height

■ Barrel Pipe Clearance

Each new parameter is displayed in the Edit Part Sizes dialog box.

5 The next step is to assign some preliminary values to the structure


parameters. These will be refined later by adding lists of possible structure
sizes. Right-click Model Parameters ➤ Edit. The Model Parameters dialog
box is displayed.

6 Note that the structure parameters have all been assigned an initial value
of zero. Change the numbers in the Equation column to match the
following constants (all in inches):
■ FTh = 15

■ SBH = 84

■ SBPC = 72

■ SBSD = 168

■ SBSH = 315

■ SCH = 24

■ SFD = 24

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■ SFH = 18

■ SID = 144

■ SRS = 300

■ SRZ1 = 8

■ SRZ2 = 70

■ SSTh = 12

■ SVPC = 192

These constants can be changed later to variables, lists, ranges, or tables


for further part customization. Keep the Model Parameters dialog box
open for the next step.

7 Next, you’ll change each of the work plane offset parameters (WPOf1
through WPOf5) to correspond with a structure parameter. For example,
instead of the first offset being approximately 12”, it now corresponds
with the SFH parameter. So if you later adjust the SFH parameter, the
work plane offset (and its plane geometry, profiles and dimensions) will
adjust accordingly.
Select WPOf1, and then select Calculator. The Equation Assistant dialog
box is displayed.

8 Select the Variable button to use the pull down to select which structure
parameter should match this work plane offset. Click SFH. Press OK to
exit the Equation Assistant dialog box. The SFH parameter is displayed
under the Equation column in the Model Parameters dialog box.

9 Repeat the previous two steps for each work plane offset parameter using
the following values:
■ WPOf2 = SRZ1

■ WPOf3 = SCH

■ WPOf4 = SRZ2

■ WPOf5 = SBSH

Remain in the Model Parameters dialog box for the next step. The
following parameters are displayed under the equation column in the
Model Parameters dialog box:

WPOf1 8.0000 SFH Workplane Offset 1

Exercise 3: Matching Offsets and Dimensions to Parameters | 615


WPOf2 8.0000 SRZ1 Workplane Offset 2

WPOf3 24.0000 SCH Workplane Offset 3

WPOf4 120.0000 SRZ2 Workplane Offset 4

WPOf5 172.0000 SBSH Workplane Offset 5

10 Next you map each body diameter dimension to a corresponding structure


diameter parameter. Using the calculator tool in the Model Parameters
dialog box, set the equation column for each body diameter parameter
making the following matches:
■ BdyD1 = SFD

■ BdyD2 = SFD

■ BdyD3 = SFD

■ BdyD4 = 2*SFD

■ BdyD5 = 2*SFD

■ BdyD6 = SID

■ BdyD7 = SID

The following parameters are displayed under the equation column in


the Model Parameters dialog box:

Bdy01 24.0000 SFD Body Diameter 1

Bdy02 24.0000 SFD Body Diameter 2

Bdy03 24.0000 SFD Body Diameter 3

Bdy04 48.0000 2*SFD Body Diameter 4

Bdy05 48.0000 2*SFD Body Diameter 5

Bdy06 144.0000 SID Body Diameter 6

Bdy07 144.0000 SID Body Diameter 7

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11 Press OK to exit the Model Parameters dialog box. Save the part. The part
updates to reflect any dimension changes.
If desired, change your view to isometric, and your visual style to
conceptual, to see how the part is progressing.

12 Change the Autolayout location to the center of the Rim circular profile.
This ensures that the structure is inserted properly into your drawing.
Select Layout Data, right-click and then click Select Placement Point. The
command line prompts you to Select a Placement Point.

13 Use your node OSNAP to select the point at the center of the Rim work
plane circular profile. A small, cyan marker is displayed at that location.
This marks the structure insertion point.

14 Save the part.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 4: Verifying the New Part (page 617).

Exercise 4: Verifying the New Part


In this exercise, you will verify that the new part reacts as expected in a drawing
by opening a drawing, regenerating the structure catalog, and accessing the
new part from a Part List.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Understanding
Part Builder.
This exercise continues from Exercise 3: Matching Offsets and Dimensions to
Parameters (page 613).

1 At this point, it is important to determine how the new part reacts in a


drawing situation. Exit the Part Builder utility by clicking the small X in
the upper right corner of the Part Browser. (The Part Browser is the left
pane portion of the Part Builder application window.) If you are prompted
to save the part, click Yes. Part Builder closes.

2 Open the tutorial drawing called Part Builder-1a.dwg, and enter


PartCatalogRegen in the command line. Enter S to indicate you want to
regenerate the structure catalog. Press Enter. Click OK, and then press ESC
to exit the PARTCATALOGREGEN command. A drawing opens with a
sample surface, and the part catalog regenerates.

3 Create a new Parts List called “Test Parts List”. The Parts List dialog box
is displayed.

Exercise 4: Verifying the New Part | 617


4 On the Structures tab, click Add Part Family. The Add Part Family dialog
box is displayed.

5 Click your part, and then click OK. An entry is displayed on the Structures
tab for the manhole.

6 Right-click your part and then click Add Part Size. The Part Size Creator
dialog box is displayed. This dialog box lists all of the parameters as
constants right now.

NOTE Do a quick visual check on the Part Size Creator dialog box to verify
that all values are nonzero. If any of the properties are displayed in the Part
Size Creator dialog box as zero, the part will not insert into the drawing
properly.

7 Now add a few pipes to your Test Parts List. Exit the Parts List dialog box.
A new Parts List is created.

8 Create a pipe network by layout that contains approximately three


structures and two pipes.

9 Observe how your structures are displayed in plan (2D) views and in 3D
view (Object Viewer).

10 Make an alignment from network parts, and a corresponding profile view.


Note how your structures respond to edits, adjustments, and changes of
pipe inverts.

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11 Click Home tab ➤ Create Design panel ➤ ➤ Part Builder . Select
Manhole 206 Type A, and then click Modify Part Sizes. Part Builder opens
to your custom part.

12 Add some variables to the Cone Height (SCH), Riser 1 Height (SRZ1), and
Barrel Height (SBH) to make it easier to edit your structure after it has
been inserted into the drawing. Right-click Size Parameters and then click
Edit Configuration. The Edit Part Sizes dialog box is displayed.

13 Under SCH, SRZ1 and SBH, change the Data Storage from Constant to
List. Each parameter now accepts additional values.

14 Click Values from the drop-down list at the top of the Edit Part Sizes
dialog box. The Edit Part Sizes dialog box switches to Values mode.

15 Move your cursor to become active in the SCH column, and then click
the Edit button from the Edit Part Sizes dialog box toolbar. The Edit Values
dialog box is displayed.

16 Click Add to add the following values: 0, 6, 12, 18. Click OK to exit the
dialog box. A list of values is now be available for SCH.

17 Repeat Steps 16 and 17 for SRZ1 and SBH, adding the following values
to each list:
■ SRZ1 = 12, 24, 36, 48, 60

■ SBH = 100, 120, 140, 180

Exercise 4: Verifying the New Part | 619


Click OK to exit the Edit Part Sizes dialog box. Lists of values are now
available for SRZ1 and SBH.

18 Save your part.


Additional customizations can be made to the geometry of a manhole
such as this one using the principles learned in the vault structure tutorial
exercise, as well as other part building exercises.

19 Exit the Part Builder utility, click the small X in the upper right corner
of the Part Browser. (The Part Browser is the left pane portion of the Part
Builder application window.) If you are prompted to save the part, click
Yes. Part Builder closes.

You can open Part Builder-1.dwg in the tutorial drawings folder (page 759) to see
what this finished part looks like in a drawing.

Tutorial: Creating a Drop Inlet Manhole Structure


This tutorial demonstrates how to use Part Builder to create a drop inlet
manhole structure. It will go through the steps to define the new part in the
structure catalog, define the manhole geometry, create profiles, and then
establish parameters to control the sizing and dimensions of the manhole.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Understanding
Part BuilderUnderstanding Part Builder.

Exercise 1: Defining the New Part in the Structure


Catalog
In this exercise, you will begin creating a drop inlet manhole structure in Part
Builder by creating a new part chapter, and a new part family within the
Structure catalog. You will also configure work planes in the Part Builder
parametric modeling environment so that you can proceed with modeling
the part in the later exercises.
This exercise uses a different process than the process that was used in the
previous tutorial.
Because you will work in the Part Builder environment, you do not need to
have a drawing open to begin this exercise. However, the AutoCAD Civil 3D
tutorial drawings folder (page 759) includes a drawing that contains the
completed part—in this case, a manhole structure with a drop inlet. If desired,

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before or after completing this exercise, you can open the Part Builder-2.dwg
file to see what this finished part looks like.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Understanding
Part Builder.

1 Click Home tab ➤ Create Design ➤ panel ➤ Part Builder .

2 In the Getting Started – Catalog Screen dialog box, in the Part Catalog
list, select Structure.

3 Click the US Imperial Structure Catalog folder, and then click New
Chapter. Enter Custom for name, and then click OK.
A new Chapter is created for custom structures.

4 Select the Custom folder, and then click New Parametric Part.
The New Part dialog box is displayed.

5 For Name, enter “NO 233a”. Click in the Description field, and add
“Outside Drop Connection” to the default Description, and then click
OK.
The Part Builder parametric modeling environment is opened.

6 Expand Part Configuration and change the following:


■ Undefined Part Type: change this to Junction Structure

■ Undefined: change this to Manhole (do this by double-clicking and


then entering “Manhole” into this field)

■ Undefined Bounded Shape: change this to Cylinder

The Part is configured as a cylinder shape with the properties of a junction


structure.

7 Expand Modeling, right-click Work Planes, and then click Add Work
Plane.
The Create Work Plane dialog box is displayed.

8 Click Top, enter “Rim” for Name, and then click OK.
A top work plane is created which represents the rim elevation of the
structure.

9 Expand Work Planes, right-click Rim ➤ Add Geometry ➤ Point.


You are prompted to pick a point.

10 Click a point near the center of the yellow rectangle, and then press ESC.

Exercise 1: Defining the New Part in the Structure Catalog | 621


A point is created on the Rim work plane near the center. This is a
reference point to begin the construction of the part.

11 Right-click Work Planes and then click Add Work Plane.


The Create Work Plane dialog box is displayed.

12 Click Right, enter “Vertical Axis” for Name, and then click OK.
The Right side Vertical Axis work plane is created.

13 Click Save Part Family. Click Yes.


Stay in the Part Builder environment for the next exercise. The part is
validated and saved. Depending on the part type, and on the Bounding
Shape selected, certain Model Parameters and Size Parameters are
automatically added to the part definition.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Defining the Manhole Geometry


(page 622).

Exercise 2: Defining the Manhole Geometry


In this exercise, you will define the geometry of the drop inlet manhole by
creating a simple schematic of the structure profile. You will build this portion
with dimensions that can be modified from within AutoCAD Civil 3D when
the part is in use.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Understanding
Part BuilderUnderstanding Part Builder.
This exercise continues from Exercise 1: Defining the New Part in the Structure
Catalog (page 620).

1 Expand Modeling ➤ Work Planes, right-click Vertical Axis ➤ Set View.


The current view and UCS is set to match the work plane.

2 Right-click Vertical Axis, and then click Add Geometry ➤ Line.


Create a line with 5 segments on the work plane. Begin by snapping to
the node of the reference point on the Rim work plane and Use Ortho
to make it easier to draw a straight line. Make the segments about 24
units long. A line geometry object is shown in the drawing. This line
represents the vertical axis of the manhole. Each segment represents a
component of the structure. Starting from the top, the segments represent
the frame, the cone, and the last 3 segments represent the barrel. You
will use the extra vertices to place the incoming Dip Tee and the Drop
90° Elbow in the next steps.

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3 Use the Add Geometry ➤ Line and Add Geometry ➤ Arc to draw the
schematic of the drop assembly. Don’t worry about making the parts
perfectly meet. You will use constraints to make the geometry match up
properly. Make the two horizontal lines that connect to the vertical line
about 36 units long. Next you will establish some constraints to keep the
components of the profile in the correct location relative to one another.

Exercise 2: Defining the Manhole Geometry | 623


4 Right-click Vertical Axis ➤ Add Constraints ➤ Parallel. Select the bottom
line segment of the manhole centerline, and then click the segment
directly above it. The bottom two segments are now constrained such
that they are parallel to each other.

5 Repeat the process, working your way up the centerline, constraining


adjacent line segments to Parallel. All segments representing the centerline
of the structure are constrained to be parallel to one another.

6 Right-click Vertical Axis ➤ Add Constraints ➤ Perpendicular. Select the


bottom segment of the structure centerline and the lower horizontal line.

7 Repeat for the upper horizontal line. The lower and upper horizontal
components of the drop pipe are constrained to perpendicular to the
structure centerline.

8 Right-click Vertical Axis ➤ Add Constraints ➤ Parallel. Select the bottom


line segment of the manhole centerline and then click the vertical
segment of the drop pipe. The vertical drop pipe is constrained to parallel
to the structure centerline.

9 Right-click Vertical Axis ➤ Add Constraints ➤ Coincident. Click the


point at the top of the vertical drop pipe, and then the left end of the

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upper horizontal line. This positions the rectangle so that its center is
located at the fixed point.

10 Right-click Vertical Axis ➤ Add Constraints ➤ Parallel. Select the right


upper horizontal segment, and then the left upper horizontal segment.
The two upper segments are constrained to parallel.

Exercise 2: Defining the Manhole Geometry | 625


11 Right-click Vertical Axis ➤ Add Constraints ➤ Tangent. Select the lower
horizontal line, and then the arc. Repeat for the arc and the vertical
segment of the drop pipe. The drop pipe bend arc is constrained to be
tangent with the horizontal and vertical segments of the pipe.

12 Right-click Vertical Axis ➤ Add Dimension ➤ Distance. Click the bottom


and then top points at the ends of the top segment of the centerline.
Click a point to set the location of the dimension. A dimension named
LenA1 is created for the line segment representing the frame height.

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13 Repeat these steps for each segment of the centerline, starting at the top
and ending at the bottom segment. Dimensions named LenA2 through
LenA5 are created for the centerline of the structure.

NOTE For this exercise, make sure you dimension the segments in the order
shown in the following illustration.

14 Add a Distance dimension to the lower horizontal line by picking the


points at each end. This represents the distance from the structure
centerline to the start of the elbow. This is used to ensure that the drop
stays on the outside of the structure. LenA6 is created.

Exercise 2: Defining the Manhole Geometry | 627


15 Right-click Vertical Axis ➤ Add Dimension ➤ Diameter. Select the arc
that represents the elbow. Click a point to set the location of the
dimension. BdyD1 is added to the arc.

16 Add one final length dimension to the left upper horizontal line segment.
LenA7 is added.

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17 Click Save Part Family. The part is saved.
Next you will add Profiles that represent the diameters of the frame, top
of cone, barrel, and drop pipe.
First, you’ll create the profile for the frame diameter.

18 Right-click Vertical Axis ➤ Add Profile ➤ Circular. Click an open area


near the top right of the vertical axis to define the center and then click
again about 12 units away to define the diameter. A circle profile is drawn.

19 Right-click Vertical Axis ➤ Add Dimension ➤ Diameter. Click the circle


drawn in the previous step. Click a point to set the location of the
dimension. BdyD2 is created for the frame diameter.

Exercise 2: Defining the Manhole Geometry | 629


20 Expand Vertical Axis. Right-click Circular Profile ➤ Rename. Enter “Frame
Cylinder Diameter”. This will make it easier to work with this shape later.

21 Next, repeat the previous two steps to create and dimension the top of
cone profile with a radius of about 18 units, and the barrel profile with
a radius of about 24 units. The top of cone profile is drawn and
dimensioned with BdyD3. The barrel diameter profile is drawn and
dimensioned with BdyD4.

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22 Next, create and dimension the drop pipe profile. Right-click Vertical
Axis ➤ Add Profile ➤ Circular. Click an open area to the left of the
upper end of the vertical axis to define the center and then click again
about 6 units away to define the diameter.

23 Add a diameter dimension to the pipe profile. The pipe profile is created
and dimensioned with BdyD5.

Exercise 2: Defining the Manhole Geometry | 631


24 Rename the three Circular Profiles to Cone Top Diameter, Barrel Cylinder
Diameter, and Drop Pipe Diameter. Renaming the profiles will make them
easier to work with later.

25 Click Save Part Family.


The next exercise continues working on this part.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 3: Creating Profiles and Establishing


Parameters (page 632).

Exercise 3: Creating Profiles and Establishing Parameters


In this exercise, you will extrude the part profiles to create the 3D model. You
will then establish the model parameters to control the sizing and dimensions
of the manhole.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Understanding
Part Builder.
This exercise continues from Exercise 2: Defining the Manhole Geometry
(page 622).

1 Right-click Modifiers ➤ Add Path. When prompted for path, select the
top line segment (the segment dimensioned LenA1), then select the Frame
Cylinder Diameter profile (the circle dimensioned BdyD2) for the start
profile, and select it again for the end profile. The Frame Cylinder
Diameter profile is applied along the path (length) of the top line segment.

2 Change the view to SE Isometric to get a better view of the Path. Change
the view back to Right.

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3 Repeat the Add Path command for the cone segment. For the start profile,
select the Cone Top Diameter profile (dimensioned with BdyD3). For the
end profile, select the Barrel Cylinder Diameter profile (dimensioned with
BdyD4).

Exercise 3: Creating Profiles and Establishing Parameters | 633


4 Repeat the Add Path command for the remaining three line segments.
Use the Barrel Cylinder Diameter profile for both the start and end profiles
for each of the three segments. Change your view to SE Isometric to see
the part in 3D. Change view back to Right.

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5 Next, you’ll add paths for the drop pipe assembly. Right-click Modifiers
➤ Add Path. Select the lower horizontal segment for the path and the
Drop Pipe Diameter profile for the start and end profiles.

Exercise 3: Creating Profiles and Establishing Parameters | 635


6 Add Path for the curved elbow. When the Enter Number of Path Segments
dialog box is displayed, verify that “Do not segment path” is checked,
and then click OK. Then add the path modifier for the vertical segment
of the drop pipe. Use the Drop Pipe Diameter profile.

7 Finish the drop pipe assembly by adding paths for the upper segments.
Start with the right upper segment. Switch to SE isometric view.

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8 Switch back to Right view.
Next, you will merge the structure components with the drop pipe
assembly components. Right-click Modifiers ➤ Boolean Add. When
prompted to select objects, select the bottom two barrel segments, and
the lower horizontal pipe segment, and then press Enter. The parts are
merged.

Exercise 3: Creating Profiles and Establishing Parameters | 637


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9 Right-click Modifiers ➤ Boolean Add. When prompted to select objects,
select the top two barrel segments, and the upper two horizontal pipe
segments, and then press Enter.

10 Right-click Modifiers ➤ Boolean Add. When prompted to select objects,


select the upper horizontal pipe segment, and the vertical pipe segment,
and then press Enter.

11 Switch the view to SE Isometric.

Exercise 3: Creating Profiles and Establishing Parameters | 639


12 Next you will set the placement point for the part.
Add new Top workplane; Add Point reference; Select placement point on
Top workplane Expand AutoLayout Data. Right-click Layout Data, and
then click Set Placement Point. Use the node object snap to click the top
point on the vertical axis. This is the point at which the part is inserted
into the drawing (insertion point).

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13 Save the part. Click Save Part Family.

14 Right-click Size Parameters ➤ Add ➤ Edit Configuration.

15 Click New. Add the following Parameters clicking New for each:
■ Barrel Height

■ Frame Height (SFH)

■ Frame Diameter (SFD)

■ Cone Height (SCH)

■ Inner Structure Diameter (SID)

■ Barrel Pipe Clearance (SBPC)

Click OK when all of the parameters have been added.

16 Click Save Part Family. Right-click Model Parameters, and then click Edit.
Double-click in the Equation column next to each of the following, and
set the Equation for each parameters as shown below:
■ FTh to 6

■ WTh to 4

■ SBH to 74

■ FTh to 6

■ SBPC to 3

Exercise 3: Creating Profiles and Establishing Parameters | 641


■ SBSD to 48

■ SBSH to 108

■ SCH to 24

■ SFD to 24

■ SFH to 4

■ SID to 48

■ SRS to 102

■ SVPC to 36

■ WTh to 4

Saving the part causes the Model Parameters to update, including the
new Size Parameters.

17 Right-click Size Parameters, and then click Edit Configuration. The Edit
Part Size dialog box is displayed.

18 Locate the SRS column, click Constant, and change it to Range. The SRS
parameter is now formatted as a range of values. Click the drop-down
arrow button next to Parameter Configuration, and select Values. The
view is changed to show the value of each parameter. Click the cell in
the SRS column, and then click the Edit button on the Edit Part Sizes
dialog box toolbar. The Edit Values dialog box is displayed. Set the
Minimum to 36, the Maximum to 12000, the Default to 120, and then
click OK.

19 Right-click Model Parameters, and then click Edit. Edit the Equations and
Descriptions for the BdyD# parameters as shown in the following table:
BdyD1 12 Elbow Bend Diameter

BdyD2 SFD Frame Cylinder Diameter

BdyD3 SFD+(2*Wth) Cone Top Diameter

BdyD4 SID+(2*Wth) Barrel Cylinder Diameter

BdyD5 12 Incoming Pipe Diameter

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20 Make the following additional edits:
SBH SRS-SFH-SCH

SBPC 3.0

SBSD SID+(2*Wth)

SBSH SRS+FTh

21 Edit the Equations and Descriptions for the LenA# parameters as shown
in the following table:
LenA1 SFH Frame Cylinder Height

LenA2 SCH Cone Cylinder Height

LenA3 SVPC-SFH-SCH+(BdyD5/2) Top Pipe CL

LenA4 SRS+FTh-SFH-SCH-LenA3-LenA5 Top Pipe CL to Bottom Pipe CL

LenA5 24 Bottom Pipe CL to Struct Bottom

LenA6 (SID/2)+WTh+(BdyD5/2+2) CL Vert Pipe to Incoming Pipe

Click Close. Change to SE Isometric view and note the changes to the
geometry of the structure.

22 Change the 4 circular profiles so they are not visible by right-clicking on


each and then clicking Visible.
The circular profiles are no longer visible.

23 Repeat the previous step for all of the Dimensions.

24 Change view to SE Isometric and examine the part. It should look like
the following image.

Exercise 3: Creating Profiles and Establishing Parameters | 643


Click Save Part Family. Close out of the Part Builder Environment, and
then re-open the Part.
To exit the Part Builder utility, click the small X in the upper right corner
of the Part Browser. (The Part Browser is the left pane portion of the Part
Builder application window.) If you are prompted to save the part, click
Yes. Part Builder closes.
After all the changes that have been made, now is a good time to close
out and re-open the part so that all of the data is freshly loaded into the
part builder environment.

25 Right-click Size Parameters, and then click Edit Configuration.

26 Change the Data Storage type to List for the following parameters:
■ WTh

■ FTh

■ SFH

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■ SFD

■ SCH

■ SID

27 Click the drop-down arrow button next to Parameter Configuration, and


select Values.

28 Select the 4.000 in the WTh column, click the Edit button from the Edit
Part Sizes dialog box toolbar, and add the following values: 4.0, 6.0. Click
OK.

29 Repeat the previous step for each of the following parameters:


■ FTh: 6.0, 8.0, 12.0

■ SFH: 4.0, 6.0, 8.0

■ SFD: 24.0, 36.0

■ SCH: 24.0, 36.0

■ SID: 48.0, 60.0, 72.0

30 Click the drop-down arrow button next to Values, and select Calculations.

31 Double click in the cell in the PrtSN to open the Calculation Assistant.

32 Change the Precision to 0.

33 Click in the text box, right after PrtD, and press the space bar.

34 From the Insert Variable list, select FTh and then click Insert. The FTh
variable is inserted into the Part size name.

35 Enter “in Floor” after the FTh variable. (Exclude the quotation marks.)

36 Repeat the previous steps, adding variables and text for SCH, SFD, SFH,
SID, WTh. The complete string should look something like this:
PrtD FTh in Floor SCH in Cone Hgt SFD in Frame Dia SFH in Frame Hgt
SID in Barrel Dia WTh in Wall.

37 Click Evaluate to see the resultant part name.


Note that the name is long and partially cut off on the right. Click the
name and use your keyboard arrow keys to see the rest of the name. This
is a required step to ensure that each part has a unique part name when
added to the part list.

Exercise 3: Creating Profiles and Establishing Parameters | 645


38 Click OK twice to close all dialog boxes.

39 Save the Part. Switch Visual Style to Conceptual. The part should look
like the following:

40 Right-click Model Parameters, and then click Edit.

41 Double click the Equation for SVPC and enter: SFH+SCH+SBPC. Change
the Visual Style to 2D Wireframe. Right-click Vertical Axis ➤ Add
Geometry ➤ Point Reference.

42 Click the point in the center of the Rim work plane.

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A reference point (green) is created where the two planes meet in line
with the vertical axis of the structure.

Exercise 3: Creating Profiles and Establishing Parameters | 647


43 Right-click Vertical Axis ➤ Add Constraints ➤ Coincident. Click the
top point of the vertical axis, then click the reference point created in
the previous step. The entire structure moves upward so that the rim
elevation matches the top work plane.

44 Click Generate Bitmap.

45 Click SE Isometric View.

46 Click OK. A bitmap image is generated. This is the image of the part that
is displayed when viewing the part in the part catalog. It is not used not
when viewing the part in a drawing.

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47 Click Save Part Family.

48 Exit the Part Builder utility by clicking the small X in the upper right
corner of the Part Browser. (The Part Browser is the left pane portion of
the Part Builder application window.) If you are prompted to save the
part, click Yes. Part Builder closes.

You can open Part Builder-2.dwg in the tutorial drawings folder (page 759) to see
what this finished part looks like in a drawing.

Tutorial: Creating a Vault Structure


This tutorial demonstrates how to use Part Builder to create a vault structure.
It will go through the steps to define the new part in the structure catalog,
define the manhole geometry, create profiles, and then establish parameters
to control the sizing and dimensions of the vault.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Understanding
Part Builder.

Tutorial: Creating a Vault Structure | 649


Exercise 1: Defining the New Part in the Structure
Catalog
In this exercise, you will begin creating a vault structure in Part Builder by
creating a new part chapter, and a new part family within the Structure catalog.
You will also configure work planes in the Part Builder parametric modeling
environment so that you can proceed with modeling the part in the subsequent
exercises.
Because you will work in the Part Builder environment, you do not need to
have a drawing open to begin this exercise. However, in Exercise 5, Using the
New Part, you will be instructed to open a drawing (Part Builder-3a.dwg) and
use the part in a pipe network.
The AutoCAD Civil 3D tutorial drawings folder (page 759) includes a drawing
that contains the completed part—in this case, a vault manhole structure. If
desired, before or after completing this exercise, you can open the Part
Builder-3b.dwg file to see what this finished part looks like.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Understanding
Part Builder.

1 Click Home tab ➤ Create Design panel ➤ ➤ Part Builder . The


Getting Started - Catalog Screen dialog box is displayed.

2 Click the US Imperial Structures Folder, then click New Chapter. Enter
Custom for name and then click OK. A new Chapter is created for custom
structures.

3 Verify that the Custom Folder is selected, then click New Parametric Part.
The New Part dialog box is displayed

4 For Name enter "Vault 5106-LA with Top 5106TL3- 332". Click in the box
next to Description. The description matches the name by default. Click
OK. The Part Builder environment is opened.

5 Expand Part Configuration and change the following:


■ Undefined Part Type: change this to Junction Structure

■ Undefined: change this to Rectangular Vault (do this by


double-clicking and then entering “Rectangular Vault” into this field)

■ Undefined Bounded Shape: change this to Box

The Part is configured as a box shape with the properties of a junction


structure.

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6 Expand Modeling. Right-click Work Planes, and then click Add Work
Plane. The Create Work Plane dialog box is displayed.

7 Click Top, and then click OK. The Top work plane is created.

8 Expand Work Planes. Right-click Top Plane and then click Rename.
Change the name to Rim. This work plane will become the rim elevation
of the new structure.

9 Click Save Part Family. Click Yes. Stay in the Part Builder environment
for the next exercise. The part is validated and saved.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Defining the Vault Top Section


Geometry (page 651).

Exercise 2: Defining the Vault Top Section Geometry


In this exercise, you will build the top portion of the vault. This is a rectangular
frame with a rectangular opening. You will build this portion with dimensions
that can be modified from within AutoCAD Civil 3D when the part is in use.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Understanding
Part Builder.
This exercise continues from Exercise 1: Defining the New Part in the Structure
Catalog (page 650).

1 Expand Modeling ➤ Work Planes, right-click Rim ➤ Set View. The


current view and UCS is set to match the work plane.

2 Right-click Rim ➤ Add Profile ➤ Rectangular. Click two points to draw


a rectangle in the drawing area. A rectangular profile object is shown in
the drawing.

3 Expand Rim, right-click Rectangular Profile in the Content Builder window


and then click Rename. Enter Frame Outer Edge as the name. This name
makes it easier to identify the component.

4 Repeat these steps to create another rectangular profile within the first
one. Name it Frame Opening.
Next you will establish some construction geometry and constraints to
keep the opening positioned at the center of the box. Rectangular profiles
representing the outer edge of the frame and the opening have been
created.

Exercise 2: Defining the Vault Top Section Geometry | 651


5 Right-click Rim ➤ Add Geometry ➤ Point. Click a location near the
center of the rectangles. Press ESC. This becomes the center point of the
structure.

6 Expand the Geometry folder. Right-click Point 2D ➤ Rename. Enter


Fixed Center for the name. This name makes it easier to identify the
component.

7 Right-click Fixed Center ➤ Fixed. The point is now fixed. Constraints


that include this point will not move the point.

8 Right-click Rim ➤ Add Constraints ➤ Equal Distance. Click the point


at the top left corner of the outer rectangle, then the Fixed Center Point.
For the second pair, click the point at the bottom right corner of the outer
rectangle, and the Fixed Center Point.

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9 Repeat this step for the bottom left and upper right corners of the outer
rectangle. This constrains the outer rectangle so that it is centered about
the Fixed Center.

10 Repeat these steps for the four corners of the inner rectangle. Both
rectangles are now centered about the fixed point.

11 Right-click Rim ➤ Add Constraints ➤ Parallel. Click any line on the


outer rectangle, then the line that is parallel to it on the inner rectangle.
This constraint prevents the inner rectangle from rotating within the
outer rectangle.

Exercise 2: Defining the Vault Top Section Geometry | 653


12 Right-click Rim ➤ Add Dimension ➤ Distance. Click two points at
either end of the top side of the outer rectangle.
Click a point to set the location of the dimension. A dimension named
LenA1 is created for the long side of the outer edge of the frame.

13 Repeat these steps for the right side of the outer rectangle.
A dimension named LenA2 is created for the short side of the outer edge
of the frame.

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14 Repeat these steps for top and right sides of the opening, in that order.
Reposition the dimensions as needed so that they are easy to read. LenA3
and LenA4 are created for the long side and short side of the opening,
respectively.

15 Click View tab ➤ Views panel ➤ SW Isometric. This 3D view is better


suited for the next steps.

16 Right-click Modifiers ➤ Add Extrusion. Click the outer rectangle. The


Extrusion Modifier dialog box is displayed.

17 Verify that Type is set to Blind. Enter 8 for Distance and check the box
next to Flip. Click OK. An extrusion modifier is created for the outer
rectangle.

Exercise 2: Defining the Vault Top Section Geometry | 655


18 Repeat these steps to create an Extrusion modifier for the inner rectangle
using a distance of 9. An extrusion modifier is created for the inner
rectangle.

19 Right-click Model Dimensions ➤ Add Distance. Click one of the vertical


edges of the outer box extrusion. Click a point to set the location of the
dimension. LenB1 is created for the height of the frame section.

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20 Repeat this step for the inner box extrusion. LenB2 is created for the
height of the opening extrusion.

Exercise 2: Defining the Vault Top Section Geometry | 657


21 Expand Model Parameters, right-click Model Parameters, and then click
Edit. The Model Parameters dialog box is displayed.

22 Click LenB2, then click Calculator. Click Variable, then select LenB1.
Enter +1 after LenB1 and then click OK, then Close.
This ensures that the extrusion for the opening is always deeper than the
thickness of the frame. You could also have double clicked the cell in the
Equation column and entered in your own formula.

23 Right-click Modifiers ➤ Add Boolean Subtract. Click the outer box, then
the inner box, and then press Enter. The inner box is subtracted from
the outer box creating a third modifier which is the result of this action.

24 Expand Modifiers. Notice the three modifiers that have been created. The
Extrusion modifiers have been set to invisible by default as a result of the
Subtract command. Rename the modifier named Subtract to Frame.

25 Right-click Size Parameters and then click Edit Configuration. The Edit
Part Sizes dialog box is displayed.

26 Scroll to the right until you see the SBSL (Structure Length) column. Click
Constant in the SBSL column, and change it to list. Do the same for the
SBSW (Structure Width) Column. These parameters can now be specified
by a list of values, rather than by a single constant.

27 Click the drop-down arrow button next to Parameter Configuration, and


select Values. Click the cell under SBSL, and then click the Edit button

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from the Edit Part Sizes dialog box toolbar. The Edit Values dialog box is
displayed.

28 Change the current value to 48. Then use the Add button to create values
of 60, 72, 84, 96, 108, and 120. This makes it so that the Structure Length
parameter can be adjusted in 12-inch increments.

29 Repeat this step for the SBSW column, creating values of 36, 48, 60, and
72.

30 Set the value of SBSL to 120 and the value of SBSW to 60. Click the Update
Model button in the Edit Part Sizes dialog box toolbar. This updates the
values under Model Parameters to match the Part Parameters.

31 Click OK. Right-click Model Parameters and then click Edit. Click LenA1,
and then click Calculator.

32 Click Variable, and then click SBSL. Click OK, and then Close.

33 Repeat these steps for LenA2, equating it to SBSW. The model is updated
to reflect the changes to the dimensions.

34 Right-click Size Parameters and then click Edit Configuration. Click New.
The New Parameter dialog box is displayed.

35 Click Frame Length, and then click OK. Click New, then click Frame
Width, OK. Two new parameters have been added: frame length (SFL)
and frame width (SFW).

36 Scroll to the right until you see the SFL and SFW columns. Change
Constant to List for each of these columns. Then change the view to
Values.

Exercise 2: Defining the Vault Top Section Geometry | 659


37 Using the same procedure that was used for SBSL and SBSW, add values
of 36, 48, 60, 72, 84, 96, and 108 for SFL. Add values of 24, 36, 48, and
60 for SFW.
These values are now controlled by lists that can ultimately be
manipulated from within AutoCAD Civil 3D when the part is in use.

38 Click OK to close the Edit Part Sizes dialog box. Click Save Part Family.
This saves the part as well as updates the Model Parameters to include
the newly added Size Parameters.

39 Right-click Size Parameters and then click Edit Values. Set the following
values:
■ SFL: 108

■ SFW: 48

Click the Update Model button in the Edit Part Sizes dialog box toolbar,
and then click OK. This updates the Model Parameter values so that they
match the Part Parameter values where applicable.

40 Expand Model Parameters, edit LenA3 and LenA4 to equate to SFL and
SFW respectively. The model updates to reflect the changes to the
dimensions.

41 Click Save Part Family. Remain in the Part Builder environment for the
next exercise.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 3: Defining the Vault Box Geometry


(page 661).

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Exercise 3: Defining the Vault Box Geometry
In this exercise, you will build the box portion of the vault. You will use
projection geometry and constraints to link the box to the frame so that a
single set of dimensions can control both.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Understanding
Part Builder.
This exercise continues from Exercise 2: Defining the Vault Top Section
Geometry (page 651).

1 Continue from the previous exercise in the Part Builder environment.


Click View tab ➤ Views panel ➤ SW Isometric. Next you will create a
reference work plane at the bottom of the frame. This view makes it easier
to perform the next few steps.

2 In the Content Builder window, right-click Work Planes, and then click
Add Work Plane. The Create Work Plane dialog box is displayed.

3 Click Reference then enter Top of Box for Name. Click OK. You are
prompted for a modifier.

4 When prompted for modifier, select the 3D frame object.

Exercise 3: Defining the Vault Box Geometry | 661


A new yellow rectangle is displayed representing the reference plane at
the bottom of the frame (also top of box). This reference plane is attached
to the modifier and moves if the frame thickness is adjusted.

When prompted for the work plane, select the yellow rectangle at the
top of the frame object (this represents the top plane).

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When prompted for the reference work plane, click along the lower edge
of the frame object.

5 Right-click Top of Box and then click Set View. Next, click View tab ➤
Views panel ➤ SW Isometric.
This sets the working plane to Top of Box and then returns the drawing
to its original view.

6 Right-click Top of Box ➤ Add Geometry ➤ Projected Geometry. You


are prompted for a modifier.

7 Click the 3D frame object. When prompted for the geometry to project,
click one of the lower edges. The line highlights in red when the cursor

Exercise 3: Defining the Vault Box Geometry | 663


is in the correct position. Repeat this process for the three remaining
lower edges.

This creates geometry that is linked to the lower edge of the frame
extrusion. This is a key relationship in building the box section below
the frame so that it is aligned with the frame. The projected geometry is
displayed in green.

8 Set the visibility of all geometry and profiles in the Rim work plane to
off. Right-click Top of Box and then click Set View. Objects in the Rim
work plane are turned off so that you do not snap to them or use them
inadvertently.

9 Right-click Top of Box ➤ Add Profile ➤ Rectangular. You are prompted


for rectangle points.

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10 Click two points to create a rectangle that is outside of the current
geometry. In Content Builder, change the name Rectangular Profile to
Outer Wall. A rectangular profile is drawn.

11 Draw a second rectangular profile within the first. Change its name to
Inner Wall. There are now two rectangular profiles.

12 Right-click Top of Box ➤ Add Constraints ➤ Equal Distance. Click the


left side of the outer rectangle, then the left side of the inner rectangle.
Then click the top side of the outer rectangle and the top side of the inner
rectangle. The distance between the outer wall and inner wall on the left
side is set to always match the distance between the outer wall and inner
wall on the top side.

Exercise 3: Defining the Vault Box Geometry | 665


13 Repeat this procedure, first clicking the top pair of lines then clicking the
right pair. Continue around the rectangle in a clockwise direction,
finishing up by setting the right side equal to the bottom side.

All sides are now equal. With these constraints in place, you can change
the thickness of one side and the changes affect all sides.

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14 Right-click Top of Box ➤ Add Dimension ➤ Perpendicular Distance.
Click a line on the inner rectangle then the corresponding parallel line
on the outer rectangle. Click either of the lines once again to set a
perpendicular reference object. Pick a point between the two lines for
the dimension position and enter 4 for the dimension value. A new
dimension named LenA5 is created. This single dimension sets the wall
thickness of the box. Because of the equal distance constraints established
in the step above, this dimension controls all four sides.

15 Right-click Top of Box ➤ Add Constraint ➤ Coincident. Click the black


point at the top left corner of the outer box, then click the green projected
point at the top left corner of the frame.

Exercise 3: Defining the Vault Box Geometry | 667


The black point is moved to be coincident with the green point. Because
of constraints, the top and left sides of both rectangles are moved and
the 4" distance between the inner and outer walls is maintained.

16 Repeat this procedure for all four corners. You may need to use Shift+Space
to select the green point. The Top of Box geometry is linked to the green
projected geometry, which is linked to the extrusion modifier projected

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from the Rim work plane. With these relationships, the geometry of the
entire vault can be controlled with a few parameters.

17 Right-click Model Parameter and then click Edit. Change the Equation
for LenA5 to Wth. Change the value for Wth to 4. Wall thickness (Wth)
is one of the size parameters that is built in to this part type.

18 Click View tab ➤ Views panel ➤ SW Isometric. Right-click Modifiers


and then click Add Extrusion. You are prompted to select a profile.

19 Click the outer rectangle. Enter 48 for Distance and check the box next
to Flip. Click OK.

An extrusion is created that extends downward 48 inches.

Exercise 3: Defining the Vault Box Geometry | 669


20 Change the name of the new extrusion modifier to Box Outside. Repeat
these steps for the inner rectangle using a distance of 44 and a name of
Box Inside.

The inner extrusion stops 4 inches shy of the outer extrusion, creating a
4-inch thick floor.

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21 Right-click Modifiers and then click Add Boolean Subtract. Click the outer
extrusion, then the inner extrusion. Press Enter. Name the new modifier
Box.

22 Right-click Size Parameters and then click Edit Values. Change to the
following values:
■ SBSL = 84

■ SBSW = 48

■ SFL = 72

■ SFW = 36

Click the Update Model button in the Edit Part Sizes dialog box toolbar,
and then click OK. Note the change to the model. The model updates
according to the size parameter changes.

Exercise 3: Defining the Vault Box Geometry | 671


23 Click Save Part Family. Stay in the Part Builder environment for the next
exercise.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 4: Finalizing the Part (page 672).

Exercise 4: Finalizing the Part


In this exercise, you will add the final model and size parameters that will
allow the part geometry to be modified in AutoCAD Civil 3D.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Understanding
Part Builder.
This exercise continues from Exercise 3: Defining the Vault Box Geometry
(page 661)

1 Continue from the previous exercise in the Part Builder environment.


Click the View tab ➤ Views panel ➤ SW Isometric. Next you will link
the Size Parameters that will be available in AutoCAD Civil 3D with the
actual dimensions of the Top Section. This view makes it easier to perform
the next few steps.

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2 Right-click Size Parameters ➤ Edit Configuration. Click the New button
at the top of the Edit Part Sizes dialog box. The New Parameter dialog
box is displayed.

3 Click Frame Height, and then click OK. The Frame Height (SFH) parameter
is added.

4 Scroll to the right until you see the SFH column. Click Constant in the
SFH column and change it to List. Click the drop-down arrow button
next to Parameter Configuration, and select Values. The values for each
parameter are shown.

5 Click the value cell in the SFH column, and then click the Edit button.
Add the values 8,12, and 16 to the list and then click OK. Set the value
of SFH to 8. This parameter will now be available as three sizes in
AutoCAD Civil 3D.

6 Click OK. Click Save Part Family. This updates the Model Parameters to
include the Size Parameters.

7 Right-click Size Parameters and then click Edit Values. Set the following
values:
■ SBSL: 120

■ SBSW: 60

■ SFL: 108

■ SFW: 48

■ SBSH: 48

Click the Update Model button in the Edit Part Sizes dialog box toolbar.
Click OK. This updates the model parameter values to match the size
parameters.

8 Right-click Model Parameters and then click Edit. Set the value of LenB1
to SFH. Click Close. LenB1 is the dimension that represents the depth of
the outer frame extrusion.

Exercise 4: Finalizing the Part | 673


9 Expand Modifiers. Right-click Box and turn off the visibility. Turn on the
visibility of Box Outside and Box Inside. This displays the appropriate
modifiers for dimensioning.

10 Right-click Model Dimensions and then click Add Distance. Click the
outer box extrusion in the drawing, then click a location for the
dimension.

Dimension LenB3 is created.

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11 Repeat this step for the inner box extrusion.

Dimension Len B4 is created.

Exercise 4: Finalizing the Part | 675


12 Right-click Model Parameters, click Edit, and set the equation for LenB3
to LenB4 + Fth (floor thickness). While the Model Parameters dialog box
is displayed, set the value for Fth to 4. Len B3 is the length of the Box
Outer extrusion which is set to the Box Inner extrusion length plus the
thickness of the floor.

13 Equate dimension LenB4 to SRS-SFH (rim to sump height - frame height).


Change the value of SRS to 48.

14 Equate SBSH to LenB1+LenB3 Click Close. SBSH is the Structure Height


parameter.

NOTE This parameter will be visible in AutoCAD Civil 3D, but will not be
able to be edited by the user. It is important that this parameter does not
evaluate to zero. If it does, the part will not display in AutoCAD Civil 3D.

15 Make the following changes to Size Parameters.


■ Fth
■ Change to List

■ Set List to 4,8,12

■ Set the value to 4

■ Wth
■ Change to List

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■ Set list to 4,8,12

■ Set the value to 4

■ Add SIL (Inner Structure Length)


■ Change to List

■ Set List to 12 inch increments from 48 to 120

■ Set value to 120

■ Add SIW (Inner Structure Width)


■ Change to List

■ Set List to 12 inch increments from 36 to 60

■ Set value to 60

■ SRS
■ Change to Range

■ Set Minimum Value to 36

■ Set Maximum Value to 120

■ Set Default Value to 72

Fth = Floor thickness and Wth = Wall thickness. These parameters will
be available in three sizes, and will be editable structure properties in
AutoCAD Civil 3D.
SIL=Inner Structure Length and SIW=Inner Structure Width. These
parameters will be available in a number of sizes at 12-inch increments.
These are the key structure properties that control the length and width
of the part in AutoCAD Civil 3D.
RS=Rim to Sump height. This is a key structure property that will allow
the depth of the structure to be controlled in AutoCAD Civil 3D.
Click Save Part Family when you are finished so that the part is saved,
and the Model Parameters are updated to include the new Size Parameters.

16 Right-click Size Parameters and then click Edit Values. Change the
following:
■ SBSL=120

■ SBSW=60

Exercise 4: Finalizing the Part | 677


■ SFL=108

■ SFW=48

Click the Update Model button in the Edit Part Sizes dialog box toolbar,
and then click OK.

17 Right-click Model Parameters and then click Edit. Make the following
changes in the Equation column for each of the following. Make the
changes in the order shown.
■ LenA1: SIL + (2*Wth) - LenA1 is the model dimension for the outer
length of the box. It has been set to the Inside Structure Length (SIL)
plus the thickness of each wall (2 x Wth).

■ LenA2: SIW + (2*Wth) - LenA2 is the model dimension for the outer
width of the box. It has been set to the Inside Structure Width (SIW)
plus the thickness of each wall (2 x Wth).

■ SBSL: LenA1 - SBSL and SBSW are important structure properties that
have been set to the actual model dimensions.

■ SBSW: LenA2

■ SVPC: SFH + 6 - The vertical pipe clearance (SVPC) has been set to the
frame height (SFH) plus six inches.

18 Expand Work Planes ➤ Rim ➤ Geometry. Right-click Fixed Center ➤


Visible. The rim center point is displayed in the drawing.

19 Expand Autolayout Data. Right-click Layout Data and then click Set
Placement Point. Use the NODE object snap to select the Fixed Center
point. The placement point is much like an insertion point for an
AutoCAD block.

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20 Expand Modifiers. Turn on the visibility of Frame and Box. Turn off all
other modifiers.

21 Click Generate Bitmap.

22 Click SW Isometric View. Click OK. A bitmap image has been generated
for the part catalog.

23 Click Save Part Family. Exit the Part Builder Environment.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 5: Using the New Part (page 679).

Exercise 5: Using the New Part


In this exercise, you will insert the new vault part into a AutoCAD Civil 3D
pipe network, and investigate how it behaves as a pipe network structure.

Exercise 5: Using the New Part | 679


For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Understanding
Part Builder.
This exercise continues from Exercise 4: Finalizing the Part (page 672).

1 Make sure that you have closed the Part Builder environment from the
previous exercise.

2 In the AutoCAD Civil 3D window, click Quick Access toolbar ➤


Open. Navigate to the tutorial drawings folder (page 759). Open the drawing
Part Builder-3a.dwg. This drawing contains a simple sanitary sewer pipe
network.

3 In the Toolspace Settings tab, expand Pipe Networks ➤ Parts Lists, and
then right- click Sanitary Sewer and then click Edit.

4 Click the Structures tab. Right-click Sanitary Sewer and then click Add
Part Family.

5 Check the box next to Vault 5106-LA with Top 5106-TL3-332. Click OK.
The part family is added to the parts list.

6 Right-click Vault 5106-LA with Top 5106-TL3332, and then click Add
Part Size. Note the new part size that has been included.

7 Click OK to add a single part size with the default values. Expand Vault
5106-LA with Top 5106-TL3-332. Note the new part size that has been
included.

8 Click OK. Click the sanitary sewer manhole in any of the drawing views.
Right-click and then click Swap Part.

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9 Expand Vault 5106-LA with Top 5106-TL3-332, and select the part beneath
it. The part now is displayed as the vault in 3D view, but still is displayed
as a manhole in plan view.

10 Click the structure in any of the views. Right-click and then click Structure
Properties.

11 Click the Information tab. Click the black triangle next to the edit button,
and select Create New.

12 Click the Information tab. Enter Model for Name.

13 Click the Profile tab. Click Display as solid.

14 Click the Display tab. Set the visibility for Model 3D Solid to On.

15 Click OK twice. Note the change to the appearance of the structure in


plan view. The vault structure now is displayed with its actual dimensions.

16 Click the vault structure. Right-click and select Structure Properties. Click
the Part Properties tab.

Exercise 5: Using the New Part | 681


17 Change the following:
■ Frame Length = 108

■ Frame Width = 48

■ Inner Structure Length = 120

■ Inner Structure Width = 60

18 Click OK. Note the change to the structure in the drawing. The structure
has been updated with the new dimension properties.

19 Save and close the drawing.

682 | Chapter 17 Part Builder Tutorials


Labels and Tables Tutorials
18
These tutorials will get you started creating and editing labels, label styles, and tables.
In AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010, you can annotate objects that exist in externally referenced
drawings. This keeps annotations separate from the design data. This greatly reduces the file
size of the annotation drawing, and allows greater flexibility in managing design data.
Object labels in AutoCAD Civil 3D include types that are placed automatically and others that
you can place manually at points of interest. Sometimes, automatic labels overlap other objects
and must be moved. Also, you may want to make some of them look different from others.
Most objects in AutoCAD Civil 3D have two types of labels. The first type is automatically
created when the object is created, as defined by the object properties. The second type is a
range of object labels that are manually applied as needed. For both types of labels, you can
edit the label style and make changes to all labels that use that style. You can also modify
individual labels by moving them manually in the drawing. When labels are moved, they
assume their dragged state, which can use a different display format. Some labels can be
converted to small tags that occupy less space in the drawing, and then the data for each
tagged object can be displayed in a table.
Labels are distinct objects that are independent of the parent object that they annotate. Labels
are dynamically linked to their parent object and automatically update when the parent object
changes. However, labels reside on a separate layer and are not selected when you select the
parent object.

NOTE Point, parcel area, corridor, and surface watershed labels are not object type labels.
They are sub-entities of a parent object and their properties are managed in the Label
Properties dialog box.

You can move most labels by simply selecting and dragging them. When you move a label,
a line and a direction arrow is automatically created, which points back to the precise point
annotated by the label. Also, you can flip labels along a linear object, such as a parcel segment,
to the other side of the line.
The easiest way to change the format of a label is by changing its style. If a suitable style is
not available, you can copy an existing style that is similar to what you want, make the
required changes, and save it as a new style. You can also change the attributes of the existing

683
style. This action requires some forethought, because your changes affect all objects in the
drawing that use the style.
Label visibility can be controlled in several ways. First, label visibility is dependent on the
parent object. When the layer of the parent object is either turned off or frozen, its labels
are also turned off or frozen. The label style can also control its visibility. The visibility of
the individual label components, or the entire label object, can be turned on or off in the
style. An individual label can also be selected and turned on or off using the Properties
palette.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Understanding Labels.

Tutorial: Preparing to Annotate a Drawing


This tutorial demonstrates how to perform some optional tasks that can make
annotating your drawing easier.
First, you will create external references (Xrefs) to drawings that contain the
objects that you will annotate in later Labels and Tables tutorials. Second, you
will learn how to use the AutoCAD Civil 3D ribbon to locate all of the
annotation commands.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Understanding
Labels and the AutoCAD Help topic Attach Drawing References (Xrefs).

Exercise 1: Attaching Drawings as Xrefs for Annotation


In this exercise, you will attach several drawings to one drawing. By attaching
drawings, you can annotate multiple large objects in a single compact drawing.
Detailed labeling is usually one of the last steps in the design process. In
AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010, you do not have to annotate objects in the drawings
in which they reside. You can create a single drawing with external references
(Xrefs) to the object drawings. This process enables you to keep your
annotation drawing size to a minimum, while maintaining the benefit of
dynamic label updates.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Help topic Attach Drawing References
(Xrefs).

684 | Chapter 18 Labels and Tables Tutorials


Attach drawings as Xrefs for annotation

1 Using Windows Explorer, navigate to the tutorial drawings folder (page


759). Select all of the drawings that have names beginning with Labels-.
Click Edit menu ➤ Copy.

2 Navigate to the My Civil Tutorial Data folder (page 759). Click Home
tab ➤ Clipboard panel ➤ Paste drop-down ➤ Paste.
In a later exercise, you will modify some of the externally referenced
drawings. To make the modifications, the drawings must be in a location
to which you have write access.

3 Open Labels-1a.dwg, which you saved in the My Civil Tutorial Data folder
(page 759) in step 2.

4 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, expand the Labels-1a drawing.


Although a surface with an outside boundary is displayed in the drawing
window, notice that the Surfaces collection is empty. The Surfaces
collection is empty because the composite surface is an external reference,
or Xref. The surface data, which is quite large, exists in a separate drawing.

TIP In large projects that have multiple surfaces, each surface object should
reside in its own drawing. For example, the existing ground surface should
exist in one drawing, with other drawings containing data references to it.
For example, the proposed ground surface should exist in its own drawing,
with a data reference to the existing ground surface.

5 On the command line, enter XREF.


In the External References dialog box, notice the difference in size between
the current drawing (Labels-1a) and the externally referenced drawing
that contains the surface (Labels-Surface). While the surface object appears
in the current drawing, the size of the current drawing is a fraction of
the surface drawing. Using Xrefs, you can use data from another drawing
without actually inserting the data.

6 In the External References palette, click the arrow next to . Click


Attach DWG.

NOTE Notice that you can also attach a drawing from Vault.

7 In the Select Reference File dialog box, navigate to the My Civil Tutorial
Data folder (page 759). Select the drawings Labels_Alignments.dwg and
Labels_Parcels.dwg. Click Open.

Exercise 1: Attaching Drawings as Xrefs for Annotation | 685


8 In the External Reference dialog box, make sure that the following settings
are selected:
■ Reference Type: Attachment
This setting specifies that the Xrefs remain with the current host
drawing (Labels-1a.dwg) if the current drawing is attached as an Xref
to another drawing. If Overlay is selected, Xrefs that exist in the
drawing are ignored if the drawing is attached to another drawing as
an Xref.

■ Path Type: Relative Path


This setting specifies that if you move the current and referenced
drawings to another location, the references are less likely to be lost.

TIP Before creating an Xref, make sure that the referenced drawings are
saved in the same directory as the current drawing.

IMPORTANT Attached Xrefs must have the following settings. If the


insertion point, scale, or rotation is different from the current drawing,
the AutoCAD Civil 3D labels will not work.

■ Insertion Point, Specify On-Screen: Cleared

■ Scale, Specify On-Screen: Cleared

■ Scale, Uniform Scale: Selected

■ Rotation: Specify On-Screen: Cleared

9 Click OK.
The alignments and parcels appear in the drawing window, and the
drawings in which they reside are listed in the External References palette.
Close the External References palette.

686 | Chapter 18 Labels and Tables Tutorials


Drawing with multiple externally referenced drawings

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Exploring the Annotation Tools


on the Ribbon (page 687).

Exercise 2: Exploring the Annotation Tools on the Ribbon


In this exercise, you will learn how to locate annotation tools on the ribbon
tabs.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Understanding
Labels.
This exercise continues from Exercise 1: Attaching Drawings as Xrefs for
Annotation (page 684).

Exercise 2: Exploring the Annotation Tools on the Ribbon | 687


Examine the Annotate tab

NOTE This exercise uses Labels-1a.dwg with the modifications you made in the
previous exercise.

1 Click the Annotate tab.


This tab contains both AutoCAD Civil 3D and standard AutoCAD
annotation tools.

2 Click Labels and Tables panel ➤ Add Labels drop-down.


Notice that the menu consists of label and table commands for the
AutoCAD Civil 3D features. You can access the label or table commands
for each feature directly from this menu.

3 Press Esc.

4 Click Add Labels.


In the Add Labels dialog box, you can select the feature, label type, and
label style. This dialog box enables you to easily switch these settings as
needed while annotating your drawing. You will use this dialog box
throughout the labels tutorials.

5 Click Close.

Examine the object tabs

1 Click Modify tab ➤ Ground Data panel ➤ Surface.

2 Click Surface tab ➤ Labels and Tables panel ➤ Add Labels drop-down.
Notice that the menu consists of label and table commands for surfaces
only. Each object tab contains an object-specific list of label and table
commands.

To continue to the next tutorial, go to Tutorial: Adding and Editing Labels


(page 688).

Tutorial: Adding and Editing Labels


This tutorial demonstrates how to add labels to AutoCAD Civil 3D objects,
and then edit the labels to suit your requirements.

688 | Chapter 18 Labels and Tables Tutorials


Labels are defined by the following properties. You will learn how to work
with many of these properties in later tutorial exercises.

■ Location. Label location in a drawing depends on the object using the


label.
For example, a parcel area label is usually placed at the center of the parcel,
and surface contour labels are usually placed on the contour line.

■ Appearance and Visibility. Whether a label is visible, and how it appears


in a drawing, can be specified in the label style or by managing the
AutoCAD properties. You can define different display settings, such as
color, lineweight, and linetype, for each label component.

■ Mode. Many label styles have two modes: label and tag. Tags identify
labeled objects within a table.

■ Behavior. Labels behave according to their association with objects. For


example, if you move an object in a drawing, the label moves with it.
Also, behavior can also determine how a label is positioned or oriented in
a drawing.

■ Anchor. A label is placed in relation to an object or another label style


component.

■ Plan-Readable Text. Labels can be placed at any angle, but you can select
a plan-readability setting to maintain upright legibility.

For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Inserting and
Managing Labels in Drawings.

Exercise 1: Adding Labels in Groups


In this exercise, you will use label sets to apply several types of labels to an
alignment.
You can automatically add labels as you create objects, such as points,
alignments, or parcels. Labeling an object automatically is an efficient way to
annotate common elements, such as alignment stations or parcel areas, as
they are created.
In this exercise, you will specify a label set to apply as you create an alignment
from a polyline. Both the newly created alignment and its labels will reside
in the current drawing. Next, you will learn how to modify the properties of
the label set after the alignment has been created. Finally, you will learn how
to apply a label set to an alignment that exists in an externally referenced
drawing.

Exercise 1: Adding Labels in Groups | 689


For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Adding Labels to
Drawings.

Create a label set for a new alignment

NOTE This exercise uses Labels-1a.dwg with the modifications you made in the
previous exercise, or you can open Labels-2a.dwg from the tutorial drawings folder
(page 759).

1 Click Home tab ➤ Create Design panel ➤ Alignment drop-down ➤ Create


Alignment From Objects . On the command line, enter X to select
the Xref option.

2 Click the blue polyline on the west side of the site.

Polyline in the externally referenced drawing

3 In the Create Alignment - From Polyline dialog box, for Name, enter West
Street. For Alignment Style, ensure that Proposed is selected. Examine
the contents of the Alignment Label Set list.

690 | Chapter 18 Labels and Tables Tutorials


When you create an object, its Create dialog box typically has style
selector lists for both the object and the labels. The style selector lists
identify the object styles and label styles that are available in the current
drawing for that object type. When you create an alignment, profile, or
section, you select a label set, which applies a preset style to each of the
various labels types that are in the set. You will examine an example of
a label set in the following steps. Notice that there is a _No Labels
selection. This selection is an empty label set that does not display any
labels along the alignment.

TIP If you do not want to annotate objects that do not use label sets, you
can create a label style that has the visibility of all of its components turned
off.

4 From the Alignment Label Set list, select Major Minor And Geometry

Points. Click the arrow next to . Select Copy Current Selection.


The Alignment Label Set dialog box displays information about how the
Major Minor and Geometry Points label set is configured. You will use
this label set as a basis to create a new label set.
The Information tab displays the label set name, description, and the
date when it was created or modified.
The Labels tab specifies the label types that are defined in the label set,
as well as the label styles that are used by each type. In this example, you
use the label set to apply label styles to the geometry points and major
and minor stations of an alignment.

NOTE Label sets for profiles and sections are constructed in the same manner,
using a similar dialog box.

5 In the Alignment Label Set dialog box, on the Information tab, for Name,
enter Major-Minor Stations And Start-End Points.

6 On the Labels tab, in the Geometry Points row, in the Style column, click

7 In the Pick Label Style dialog box, select Alignment Start. Click OK.

8 In the Alignment Label Set dialog box, in the Geometry Points row, in

the Geometry Points To Label column, click .

Exercise 1: Adding Labels in Groups | 691


9 In the Geometry Points dialog box, click to clear all check boxes.
Select the Alignment Beginning check box. Click OK.
You can use geometry point label types to label a selection of geometry
points using a combination of styles that you specify. In steps 8 and 9,
you applied a geometry point label style to the alignment starting station.
In the following steps, you will create another instance of the Geometry
Points label type that applies a different style to the alignment ending
station.

TIP To remove a label type from the label set, select the type and click
.

10 In the Alignment Label Set dialog box, on the Labels tab, specify the
following parameters:
■ Type: Geometry Points

■ Geometry Point Label Style: Alignment End

11 Click Add.

12 In the Geometry Points dialog box, click to clear all check boxes.
Select the Alignment End check box. Click OK.

13 In the Alignment Label Set dialog box, click OK.

14 In the Create Alignment - From Polyline dialog box, under Conversion


Options, clear the Add Curves Between Tangents check box. Click OK.

15 Zoom in to the area surrounding the new alignment and examine the
labels that were automatically placed along the alignment.

NOTE If the EP: 0+243.63 label is adjacent to the intersecting alignment,


clickAlignment tab ➤ Modify panel ➤ ➤ Reverse Direction . Click
the alignment. Click OK to acknowledge the warning about alignment
properties that are affected by the command.

When the alignment is created, it is green. The green color is controlled


by the alignment style that you specified in step 3. Notice that the new
red labels are a brighter than the labels that were brought in with the
externally referenced objects. The color tones are different so that you
can easily identify where the labels reside: bright labels are in the current
drawing, and light labels are in the externally referenced drawings.

692 | Chapter 18 Labels and Tables Tutorials


Label set applied to a newly created alignment

Modify the label set of an existing alignment

NOTE Changes that you make to the alignment label set after the alignment has
been created will not be applied to the original label set. To edit the original label
set, in Toolspace, on the Settings tab, expand Alignment ➤ Label Styles ➤ Label
Sets. Right-click the appropriate label set. Click Edit.

1 In the drawing, select the West Street alignment. Right-click. Click Edit
Alignment Labels.

2 In the Alignment Labels dialog box, specify the following parameters:


■ Type: Geometry Points

■ Geometry Points Label Style: Perpendicular With Tick And Line

3 Click Add.

Exercise 1: Adding Labels in Groups | 693


4 In the Geometry Points dialog box, click to clear all check boxes.
Select the following check boxes:
■ Tangent-Tangent Intersect

■ Tangent-Curve Intersect

■ Curve-Tangent Intersect

5 Click OK to close the Geometry Points and Alignment Label Set dialog
boxes.

6 Press Esc to deselect the alignment.

Alignment with modified label set

NOTE In the previous image, the EP: 0+243.63 and PC: 0+158.39 labels are
shown on opposite sides of the alignment for clarity. You will learn to flip
labels to the opposite side of an alignment in a later exercise.

694 | Chapter 18 Labels and Tables Tutorials


Add labels to an alignment in a referenced drawing

1 Click Annotate tab ➤ Labels & Tables panel ➤ Add Labels


menu ➤ Alignment ➤ Add/Edit Station Labels . Click the Main Street
alignment, which is the long alignment in the middle of the site.
Because this alignment exists in an externally referenced drawing, the
table in the Alignment Labels dialog box is empty. Only labels that are
created in the current drawing can be modified in the current drawing.
Labels that were created in an externally referenced drawing must be
modified in the source drawing.

2 In the Alignment Labels dialog box, specify the following parameters:


■ Type: Geometry Points

■ Geometry Point Label Style: Perpendicular With Tick And Line

3 Click Add.

NOTE The Import Label Set button applies a label set that exists in the current
drawing.

4 In the Geometry Points dialog box, click OK.

5 In the Alignment Labels dialog box, specify the following paramters:


■ Type: Design Speeds

■ Design Speed Label Style: Station Over Speed

6 Click Add.

7 Click OK.
On the Main Street alignment, labels are displayed at each station at
which a new design speed is applied, and at each geometry point. These
label objects reside in the current drawing and annotate the alignment
in the externally referenced drawing.

Exercise 1: Adding Labels in Groups | 695


Labels added to an alignment in an externally referenced drawing

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Manually Labeling an Object (page


696).

Exercise 2: Manually Labeling an Object


In this exercise, you will add labels to specific areas on an alignment after it
has been created and automatically labeled.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Adding Labels to
Drawings.
This exercise continues from Exercise 1: Adding Labels in Groups (page 689).

696 | Chapter 18 Labels and Tables Tutorials


Label multiple alignment segments

NOTE This exercise uses Labels-2a.dwg with the modifications you made in the
previous exercise.

1 Click Annotate tab ➤ Labels & Tables panel ➤ Add Labels


menu ➤ Alignment ➤ Add Alignment Labels .

2 In the Add Labels dialog box, specify the following parameters:


■ Feature: Alignment

■ Label Type: Multiple Segment

3 In the three label style fields, accept the default styles.


You can choose specific styles for each of the Line, Curve, and Spiral label
styles. This alignment does not contain any spirals, so the Spiral Label
Style setting is ignored.

4 Click Add.

5 On the left-hand side of the site, click the West Street alignment, which
you created in Exercise 1: Adding Labels in Groups (page 689).
The Multiple Segment label command places a label at the middle of each
line and curve. This method can be convenient, but sometimes a few of
the labels overlap other features of the drawing. In Exercise 3: Selecting
and Moving Labels (page 699), you will move some of these labels.

Label single alignment segments

1 In the Add Labels dialog box, specify the following parameters:


■ Feature: Alignment

■ Label Type: Single Segment

■ Line Label Style: Line Label Style ➤ Alignment Name

NOTE Notice that you can use either a General Line Label Style or Alignment
Line Label Style. General Line and Curve label styles can be applied to lines
and curves that are part of an Alignment or Parcel object.

2 Click Add.

Exercise 2: Manually Labeling an Object | 697


You are now ready to choose a specific location for a label on the
alignment. Unlike multiple segment labels, single segment labels are
placed exactly where you click.

3 On the West Street alignment, click near station 0+120 to place a line
segment label. Be sure to click the line segment, and not the station label.
Because you clicked a line segment, the label style specified in the Line
Label Style list in the Add Labels dialog box was used. If you had clicked
a curve, the label style specified in the Curve Label Style list would have
been used.

4 On the Main Street alignment, which is the long alignment in the middle
of the site, click a location between stations 0+140 and 0+160.

5 On the East Street alignment, which is the alignment with the cul-de-sac
on the right-hand side of the site, click a location between stations 0+200
and 0+220.

6 In the Add Labels dialog box, in the Line Label Style list, select Line Label
Style ➤ Bearing Over Distance. Click Add.

7 On the Main Street alignment, click a location between stations 0+100


and 0+120. A new label displaying bearing and distance information is
created.

Examine label settings for other objects

1 In the Add Labels dialog box, in the Feature list, select Parcel.
This selection changes the label type and style selections that are available.
The Add Labels dialog box works in the same manner for all of the feature
types shown in the Feature list. When you annotate objects in AutoCAD
Civil 3D, you can switch the type of object you are labeling, as well as
the label type and style of the various elements, as needed.
Pay attention to the command line as you annotate objects. Some label
types, such as span, slope, grade, and depth, annotate a range of data
between two points. For example, if you want to label a grade or depth
between two points, you must specify those points in the drawing.

2 In the Add Labels dialog box, click Close.

698 | Chapter 18 Labels and Tables Tutorials


Alignment with manually inserted segment labels

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 3: Selecting and Moving Labels (page


699).

Exercise 3: Selecting and Moving Labels


In this exercise, you will select labels and change their location in the drawing.
Your drawing currently contains many labels, some of which overlap one
another. You will move them in the following steps.
Some label types, such as alignment station and geometry point labels, are
part of a label type group that shares properties. When you click one label in
the group, the entire group is selected. Properties for the group are controlled
using the AutoCAD Properties palette, which is available when you select the
group, right-click, and click Label Properties. You can select the group and
then change the properties of all labels in the group simultaneously.
Alternatively, you can use Ctrl+click to select and change label properties
individually.

Exercise 3: Selecting and Moving Labels | 699


Other label types, such as segment labels, are not part of a group. Each of these
labels is treated as an individual object.
Labels are distinct objects that are independent of the parent object that they
annotate. Labels are dynamically linked to their parent object and
automatically update when the parent object changes. However, labels reside
on a separate layer and are not selected when you select the parent object.
If a label resides in an externally referenced drawing, the label cannot be edited
in the current drawing.

NOTE Point, parcel area, corridor, and surface watershed labels are not object
type labels. They are sub-entities of a parent object and their properties are
managed in the Label Properties dialog box.

For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Moving Labels in
a Drawing.
This exercise continues from Exercise 2: Manually Labeling an Object (page
696).

Select labels in a drawing

NOTE This exercise uses Labels-2a.dwg with the modifications you made in the
previous exercise, or you can open Labels-2b.dwg from the tutorial drawings folder
(page 759).

1 Make sure that you are zoomed in to the area around the West Street
label on the alignment on the left-hand side of the site.

2 Select the alignment.


Notice that the alignment is highlighted, and grips appear along the
alignment. The alignment labels, however, are not highlighted.
In previous versions of AutoCAD Civil 3D, labels were sub-entities of
their parent object. Now, most AutoCAD Civil 3D labels are independent
objects that reside on their own layer. Although they are independent
objects, labels are dynamically linked to their parent object and
automatically update to reflect changes in the parent object.

3 Press Esc to deselect the alignment.

4 On the road alignment, click one of the station labels.


Notice that all other station labels along the alignment are now
highlighted.

5 Press Esc to deselect the station labels.

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6 Click one of the curve labels.
Notice that while that curve label is selected, the other curve labels are
not.
There are two distinct label object types:
■ Label type groups—When you select a label that is part of a label type
group, such as an alignment station label, the entire group is selected.
If you select a label type group and use the right-click menu to update
the label properties, the properties of every label in the group update.
To select a single label within a label type group, use Ctrl+click.

■ Single label objects—When you select a single label object, such as an


alignment curve label, only that label object is selected. You can
change the properties, including the label style, of single label objects
without affecting the other labels of the parent object.

7 Press Esc to deselect the curve label.

Move labels in the drawing

1 Click the label showing bearing over distance near station 0+100. Grips
appear on the label.

2 Click the label location grip. The grip turns red. Drag the label down
and to the left to move it to a clear location. Click to place the label. Press
Esc to deselect the label.

Label dragged with the label location grip

Exercise 3: Selecting and Moving Labels | 701


A leader line is created from the label to the alignment.

3 Click the West Street label. Grips appear on the label.

4 Click the label anchor grip. The grip turns red. Drag the label to
the right. Click near station 0+100 to place the label closer to the center
of the line segment. Press Esc to deselect the label.

Label moved with label anchor grip

5 Pan and zoom to the cul-de-sac of the West Street alignment.

6 Use the grips to drag each curve label away from the alignment.

7 Click the EP: 0+243.63 label. A grip appears on the label.

8 Click the grip. The grip turns red. Drag the label up and to the right to
move it to a clear location.
A leader line is created from the label to the alignment.
Notice that the label displays without a border. The border is hidden
because the dragged state of the label style specified a different format for
when the label is dragged to a new location. You will learn about label
style settings in the Working with Label Styles tutorials (page 720).

702 | Chapter 18 Labels and Tables Tutorials


Alignment end point label displayed in dragged state

NOTE You can reset a selected label by clicking the circle grip.

9 Press Esc to deselect the EP: 0+243.63 label.

10 Ctrl+click station label 0+000. Press Delete.

11 Repeat these operations, moving and dragging labels to other locations


where required. If you want to undo any flipping or dragging operations,
select the labels in question. Right-click and click Reset Label.

Exercise 3: Selecting and Moving Labels | 703


Alignment with labels moved to improve readability

Select labels in an Xref

1 Click one of the station labels on the Main Street alignment.


Notice that both the Main Street and East Street alignments and their
station labels are selected. The labels were selected because the labels were
created in the externally referenced drawing in which the alignments
reside. When an object has been created through an Xref, you can edit
its labels only in the source drawing.

2 Press Esc to deselect the Xref.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 4: Working with Label Properties (page


705).

704 | Chapter 18 Labels and Tables Tutorials


Exercise 4: Working with Label Properties
In this exercise, you will use standard AutoCAD tools to control properties for
both individual labels and group labels.
You can change the properties of:

■ an individual label object

■ a label object group

■ an individual label object

In this exercise, you will change all of these properties.


For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Modifying Labels
in a Drawing.
This exercise continues from Exercise 3: Selecting and Moving Labels (page
699).

Examine label properties

NOTE This exercise uses Labels-2b.dwg with the modifications you made in the
previous exercise.

1 On the command line, enter LIST.

2 On the West Street alignment, click a station label and a bearing over
distance label. Press Enter.
The AutoCAD Text Window appears, displaying the object type, label
type, and layer of the selected label objects.
For example, in AECC_ALIGNMENT_STATION_LABEL_GROUP
■ ALIGNMENT is the object type

■ STATION_LABEL indicates that it is a station label object

■ GROUP indicates that the label object is part of a label group

AECC_ALIGNMENT_TANGENT_LABEL is not followed by GROUP because


it is an individual object label.

3 Close the AutoCAD Text Window.


Next, you will change the label style of an individual label object.

Exercise 4: Working with Label Properties | 705


Change the style of a single label

1 Click the curve label near station 0+040. Right-click. Click Properties.

2 In the Properties palette, change the Curve Label Style to Curve Label
Style ➤ Design Data.

3 Press Esc to deselect the label.

Change the style of a group of labels

1 Click station label 0+040.


All station labels are highlighted, indicating that they are part of a label
group.

2 Right-click. Click Properties.

NOTE Selecting Edit Alignment Labels from the shortcut menu opens the
Alignment Labels dialog box, where you can change the alignment label set.

3 In the Properties palette, under Labeling, change the Major Station Label
Style to Perpendicular With Tick.

Flip a label to the opposite side of the alignment

1 Ctrl+click geometry point label PC: 0+018.54.

2 In the Properties palette, examine the properties that are available. Under
General, change the Flipped property to True. Close the Properties palette.

3 Press Esc to deselect the labels.

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Alignment labels with modified properties

To continue to the next tutorial, go to Changing the Content of a Label (page


707).

Tutorial: Changing the Content of a Label


This tutorial demonstrates how to change label text content for an individual
label and for a group of labels.
You will change the content of geometry point labels, which are part of a
group of labels. You will override the text content of an individual label in a
geometry point group. Then, you will change the geometry point abbreviation
in the drawing settings, which will change the text content of all geometry
point labels in the drawing.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Adding Content
to Labels.

Tutorial: Changing the Content of a Label | 707


Exercise 1: Overriding Label Text
In this exercise, you will override the text in a single label. Label text overrides
are useful for adding text to an individual label to mark a point of interest
without modifying all labels that share a style.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Overriding Label
Text.

Override the text of a label

NOTE This exercise uses Labels-2b.dwg with the modifications you made in the
previous exercise, or you can open Labels-3a.dwg from the tutorial drawings folder
(page 759).

1 Zoom and pan to the area between stations 0+000 and 0+100 of the Main
Street alignment.

2 Ctrl+click the geometry point label PC: 0+035.99. Right-click. Click Edit
Label Text.

NOTE Using Ctrl+click selects only one label in a group. For this exercise,
you will override the text of only the PC: 0+035.99 label, and not the other
geometry point labels.

3 In the Text Component Editor - Label Text dialog box, place your cursor
at the end of the equation in the preview pane. Press Enter.

4 Enter N: in the preview pane.

5 In the Properties list, select Northing. Click to move the Northing


formula, then place your cursor at the end of the equation and press
Enter.

6 Enter E: in the preview pane.

7 In the Properties list, select Easting. Click to move the Easting formula.
The formula in the preview pane should look like this:
<[Geometry Point Text(CP)]>: <[Station
Value(Um|FS|P2|RN|AP|Sn|TP|B3|EN|WO|OF)]>
N: <[Northing(Um|P4|RN|AP|Sn|OF)]>
E: <Easting(Um|P4|RN|AP|Sn|OF)]>

8 Click OK.

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Notice that the label updates to show the Northing and Easting values
at the point of curvature. The other labels at the points of curvature and
tangency have maintained their original style settings. To apply this
change to the entire group of geometry point labels, you would modify
the style that is used by the entire group.

Geometry point label PC: 0+035.99 with overridden text

9 To return the label to its original style settings, Ctrl+click the label.
Right-click. Click Clear Label Text Override.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Changing Label Content in the


Drawing Settings (page 709).

Exercise 2: Changing Label Content in the Drawing


Settings
In this exercise, you will change the default abbreviations that appear in
geometry point labels.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Understanding
Settings.

Exercise 2: Changing Label Content in the Drawing Settings | 709


This exercise continues from Exercise 1: Overriding Label Text (page 708).

Change label content in the drawing settings

NOTE This exercise uses Labels-3a.dwg with the modifications you made in the
previous exercise.

1 Zoom and pan to the area between stations 0+000 and 0+080 of the West
Street alignment.

2 In Toolspace, on the Settings tab, right-click the drawing name. Click


Edit Drawing Settings.

3 In the Drawing Settings dialog box, click the Abbreviations tab.

NOTE In the Drawing Settings dialog box, you can use the Object Layers
tab to change the default layer on which AutoCAD Civil 3D objects and their
labels are created.

The Alignment Geometry Point Text category lists the abbreviations


currently in use for each type of geometry point.

4 In the Value column, change the geometry point abbreviation values to


the following:
■ Alignment End: End

■ Tangent-Curve Intersect: Tan-Cur

■ Curve-Tangent Intersect: Cur-Tan

5 Click OK.
The geometry point labels update to reflect the change in the drawing
settings.

NOTE If the abbreviations in the geometry point labels have not updated to
reflect the changes you made, enter REGEN on the command line.

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Geometry point labels with abbreviations modified in drawing
settings

6 Close the drawing.

To continue to the next tutorial, go to Working with Tables and Tags (page
711).

Tutorial: Working with Tables and Tags


This tutorial demonstrates how to place object data into tables.
Each row in a table contains information about a single object component,
such as a line or a curve. You can create tables for point, parcel, alignment,
surface, pipe, and structure objects. However, only alignment and parcel tables
can be created through Xref.
Some object label styles have two modes: label and tag. Label mode is the
default label appearance when you annotate an object. Tag mode replaces the
detailed label information with a short alphanumeric code so you can move
the information into a table. Labels switch to tag mode automatically when
a table is inserted into the drawing, using the style-based selection method.

Tutorial: Working with Tables and Tags | 711


The label styles for the following objects support tag mode:

■ general lines and curves

■ alignment lines, curves, and spirals

■ parcel area, lines, and curves

For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topics Setting Up Label
Styles to be Used as Tags and Understanding Tables.

Exercise 1: Creating a Parcel Area Table


In this exercise, you will create a table to display information about parcel
objects.
You use a similar workflow to create tables for most AutoCAD Civil 3D objects.
In this exercise, you will learn about the table tools in AutoCAD Civil 3D, and
the dynamic nature of externally referenced drawings. You will add a parcel
area table to an externally referenced drawing, and then examine the results
in the host drawing.
To create a table for an object, the object must be labeled. Most tables require
that you specify the table data by selecting a label style. In this exercise, you
will select parcel area labels to create a parcel area table. However, the parcel
and area labels exist in an externally referenced drawing. Parcel area tables
cannot be created through xref, so you cannot create the table in the current
drawing.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Adding Tables to
a Drawing.

Apply a simpler parcel area label style

NOTE Before you begin this exercise, you must have the provided Labels- drawings
saved in the My Civil Tutorial Data folder (page 759). See the Attaching Drawings
as Xrefs for Annotation exercise (page 684) for more information.

1 Open Labels-4a.dwg, which is located in the My Civil Tutorial Data folder


(page 759).

2 Open Labels-Parcels.dwg, which is located in the My Civil Tutorial Data


folder (page 759).

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3 In Labels-Parcels.dwg, zoom in so that you can see all of the parcels
adjoining East Street, which is the cul-de-sac alignment on the right-hand
side of the drawing.
You will apply a simpler area label style to parcels 37 through 41, and
then create a table that will display detailed parcel data.

4 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, expand Sites ➤ Site. Click the Parcels
collection.

5 In the item view at the bottom of Toolspace, use Shift+click to select


parcels number 37 through 41. Right-click the Area Label Style column
heading. Click Edit.

6 In the Select Label Style dialog box, select Parcel Number. Click OK.
The parcel area label consists of the parcel number only. In the following
steps, you will create a table that displays detailed information about
each of these parcels.

Create a parcel area table

1 Click Annotate tab ➤ Labels & Tables panel ➤ Add Tables


menu ➤ Parcel ➤ Add Area.

2 In the Table Creation dialog box, in the Select By Label Or Style area, in
the Parcel Number row, select the Apply check box.
You can select multiple styles from which to create the parcel table. All
the parcels that use the selected styles will be shown in the table.

3 Click OK.
When you move the cursor into the drawing area, the upper left corner
of the table is attached to the cursor.

4 Move the cursor to the right of the parcels and click.


The table is inserted into the drawing.

5 On the Quick Access toolbar, click Save.

6 Close the Labels-Parcels drawing.

Examine the results in the current drawing

1 In drawing Labels-4a, on the command line, enter XREF.

2 In the External References palette, right-click Labels-Parcels. Click Reload.

Exercise 1: Creating a Parcel Area Table | 713


The current drawing is rebuilt using the updated data from the
Labels-Parcels drawing. Notice that the parcel area table you created in
the externally referenced drawing is shown, and the parcels at the end
of the East Street alignment use the Parcel Number area label style.

Parcel area table added to an externally referenced drawing

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Converting Labels to Tags (page


714).

Exercise 2: Converting Labels to Tags


In this exercise, you will create some parcel segment labels, and then convert
the labels to tags and move the data into a table.
In Exercise 1: Creating a Parcel Area Table (page 712), you created a table in
the externally referenced Labels-Parcels drawing. In this exercise, you will
create parcel segment labels directly in the current drawing. You will then
convert the segment labels to tags and create a table to display the detailed
label information.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Setting Up Label
Styles to be Used as Tags.
This exercise continues from Exercise 1: Creating a Parcel Area Table (page
712).

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Label the parcel segments

NOTE This exercise uses Labels-4a.dwg with the modifications you made in the
previous exercise.

1 Click Annotate tab ➤ Labels & Tables panel ➤ Add Labels


menu ➤ Parcel ➤ Add Parcel Labels .

2 In the Add Labels dialog box, specify the following parameters:


■ Label Type: Multiple Segment

■ Line Label Style: Parcel Line Label Style ➤ Bearing Over Distance

■ Curve Label Style: Parcel Curve Label Style ➤ Delta Over Length And
Radius

3 Click Table Tag Numbering.

4 In the Table Tag Numbering dialog box, examine the settings that are
available.
The settings specify the starting number and increment for line, curve,
and spiral tags. Notice that there are separate starting number and
increment properties for both Table Tag Creation and Table Tag
Renumbering. For this exercise, accept the default value of 1 for all
properties. When you convert the labels to table tags, they will all use a
starting number and an increment of 1. You will use the Table Tag
Renumbering properties later.

5 In the Table Tag Numbering dialog box, click Cancel.

6 In the Add Labels dialog box, click Add.

7 Click the parcel area labels in the following order: 39, 40, 41, 37, 38. Press
Enter to accept the default Clockwise label direction.
As you click, labels are placed on each parcel segment. If you wish, zoom
in to inspect the labels before you convert them to tags.

Exercise 2: Converting Labels to Tags | 715


Parcel segment labels

8 When you finish labeling parcels, right-click to end the command.


The Add Labels dialog box remains open, in case you want to label more
parcels or other objects. You can close it, as you will not use it again in
this exercise.

Place the segment labels in a table

1 Click Annotate tab ➤ Labels & Tables panel ➤ Add Tables


menu ➤ Parcel ➤ Add Multiple Segments.
This option creates a table that shows both the line and curve segments
of the labeled parcels.

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2 In the drawing, click a parcel area label.

3 In the Table Creation dialog box, in the Select By Label Or Style area,
select the Apply check box for the two label styles you placed on the
parcel segments:
■ Parcel Curve: Delta Over Length And Radius

■ Parcel Line: Bearing Over Distance

4 Click OK.
When you move the cursor into the drawing, the upper left corner of the
table is attached to the cursor.

5 Move the cursor outside the surface extents and click.


The table is inserted into the drawing. Notice that the line and curve
labels around the parcels have been converted to tags.

Parcel segment labels converted to tags, with a parcel segment table added to drawing

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 3: Renumbering Table Tags (page 718).

Exercise 2: Converting Labels to Tags | 717


Exercise 3: Renumbering Table Tags
In this exercise, you will renumber the table tags you created in the previous
exercise.
You will renumber the curve table tags around the cul-de-sac on the East Street
alignment so that they follow a clockwise pattern. You will use the Table Tag
Numbering dialog box that you examined in the previous exercise to specify
the starting number and increment with which to renumber the table tags.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Renumbering Label
Tags.
This exercise continues from Exercise 2: Converting Labels to Tags (page 714).

Examine the table tag numbering settings

NOTE This exercise uses Labels-4a.dwg with the modifications you made in the
previous exercise, or you can open Labels-4b.dwg from the tutorial drawings folder
(page 759).

1 In Toolspace, on the Settings tab, right-click the drawing name. Click


Table Tag Numbering.

2 In the Table Tag Numbering dialog box, notice that the Table Tag Creation
Starting Number values are not 1 as they were Exercise 2: Converting
Labels to Tags (page 714).
The Starting Number values are the next available numerals based on the
line, curve, and spiral tags that exist in the drawing and the specified
increment value. If you add more table tags in the drawing, these values
prevent the duplication of tag numbers.

NOTE The Table Tag Numbering dialog box specifies the tag numbering
settings for all objects. The settings that you specify in the following steps
will apply to table tags for all objects.

3 Under Table Tag Renumbering, accept the default values.


For this exercise, you will restart the curve numbering at 1 and use an
increment of 1.

4 Click OK.

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Renumber the table tags

1 In the drawing, zoom in to the area around the cul-de-sac at the end of
the East Street alignment.

2 Click a label tag to select it. Click Labels tab ➤ Modify panel ➤ Renumber
Tags.

3 Click tag C6.


You are notified that tag number 1 already exists. If you press Enter, the
next available curve tag will be applied to this tag. For this exercise, a
duplicate tag is acceptable, because you will continue the renumbering
to resolve duplicates.

4 On the command line, enter C to create a duplicate curve table tag.


The curve table tag now appears as C1.

5 Repeat steps 3 and 4 on the remaining curve table tags, so that the curve
table tags are labeled C1 through C7 clockwise around the cul-de-sac.

Table tags: original (left) and renumbered (right)

6 To end the command, right-click. Click Enter.

7 Pan to the parcel line and curve table you created in Exercise 2:
Converting Labels to Tags (page 714).
Notice that the table has automatically updated to reflect the new curve
numbering.
Further exploration: Add segment labels to the rest of the parcels along
the East Street alignment, and then convert the labels to table tags.
Renumber the table tags along the right-of-way so that they follow a
clockwise pattern.

Exercise 3: Renumbering Table Tags | 719


Table tags renumbered along right-of-way

To continue to the next tutorial, go to Working with Label Styles (page 720).

Tutorial: Working with Label Styles


This tutorial demonstrates how to define the behavior, appearance, and content
of labels using label styles.
Like other AutoCAD Civil 3D objects, every label in a drawing has a style
associated with it. If you edit a label style, changes are immediately reflected
in all labels in the drawing that use that style.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Creating and
Editing Label Styles.

Exercise 1: Creating a Label Style


In this exercise, you will create a label style.

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In most cases, the easiest way to create a style is to find an existing style that
is similar to the format that you want, create a copy, and then modify the
copy.
In the following steps, you will create a design speed label style. You will learn
various ways to create and edit label styles using the AutoCAD Civil 3D
Toolspace.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Creating New
Label Styles.

To create a label style

NOTE This exercise uses Labels-4b.dwg with the modifications you made in the
previous exercise, or you can open Labels-5a.dwg from the tutorial drawings folder
(page 759).

1 Zoom in to station 0+000 of the Main Street alignment.


Examine the design speed label. You will use this label style as a basis to
create a new label style that will display the design speed without the
station label. The design speed labels will be placed at locations where
the stations are already labeled.

NOTE Design speed information, including the station at which the design
speed has been applied, is available in the Alignment Properties dialog box
on the Design Speeds tab.

2 Select the design speed label. Right-click. Select Edit Alignment Labels.

3 In the Alignment Labels dialog box, in the Design Speeds row, in the

Style column, click .

NOTE You use the Alignment Labels dialog box to create and edit label sets
or to import an existing label set.

4 In the Pick Label Style dialog box, click the arrow next to . Click
Create New.

NOTE The Create Copy selection uses the format of the current style as

a basis for the new style. You will learn about the Create Child Of Current
Selection option in Exercise 2: Using a Child Label Style (page 724).

Exercise 1: Creating a Label Style | 721


5 In the Label Style Composer dialog box, on the Information tab, specify
the following paramters:
■ Name: Design Speeds - Inline

■ Description: Small design speed label perpendicular to the alignment

6 Click the General tab.


On the General tab, you can specify the settings for the overall label style,
including the visibility, layer, and plan readability. For this exercise,
accept the default settings on this tab. You can turn on or off the visibility
of the individual label components on either the Summary or Layout
tab.

7 Click the Layout tab.


On the Layout tab, you specify the content of the label style. A label can
be made up of one or more components, each of which can have separate
properties.

8 Examine the contents of the Component Name list.


Each component is shown in the Preview pane on the right side of the
dialog box. You can use the buttons to the right of the Component Name
list to create, copy, or delete label style components. These components
were copied when you created the style from the existing Station Over
Speed style.

9 In the Component Name list, select Station. In the General collection,


change the Visibility to False.
Notice that your change is shown immediately in the Preview pane. This
pane is useful when you are designing a label style. If you do not like
what you see in the preview, you can change it before saving the style.

NOTE To delete the Station component, select it from the Component Name

list, and then click .

10 In the Component Name list, select Design Speed. Specify the following
parameters:
General
■ Anchor Component: Line

■ Anchor Point: End

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Text
■ Attachment: Bottom Right

■ X Offset: 0.0 mm

■ Y Offset: 1.0 mm

11 In the Text collection, for the Contents property, click the Value column.

Click .
You can use the Text Component Editor dialog box to define the content
and format of a label style text component. The Properties list displays
the available properties that can be displayed in a label component. When
you select a component from the list, the applicable values are displayed
in the table below.

12 In the Text Component Editor dialog box, in the preview pane, select
the DESIGN text. Press Delete.

13 Click the <[Design Speed(P3|RN|Sn|OF|AP)]> property block.


After you have selected the property block in the Preview pane, you can
modify the specific values that will be applied to the property.

14 In the Properties list, select Design Speed. Change the Precision value to

0.1. Click to apply the new Precision value to the block in the Preview
pane.
Notice that in the block of code, P0 has changed to P1.

15 In the Preview pane, select the SPEED text.

16 Click the Format tab.


You can change the style, justification, font, and color of each text
component.

17 With the text in the Preview pane selected, change the Font to Times
New Roman. Click OK.
In the Label Style Composer, notice that the SPEED font is different from
the design speed value. The design speed value font did not change
because it was not selected when you changed the font.

18 Click OK to close the Label Style Composer, Pick Label Style, and
Alignment Labels dialog boxes. Pan along the Main Street alignment to
view the format of the new label style.

Exercise 1: Creating a Label Style | 723


Label style created from an existing style

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Using a Child Label Style (page 724).

Exercise 2: Using a Child Label Style


In this exercise, you will create a child label style that derives its default settings
from an existing label style, or parent.
In the following steps, you will create a child of an existing alignment label
style, and modify some of the child label style properties. You will examine
the results, and then override some of the child style properties with those of
the parent label style.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Modifying Labels
in a Drawing.
This exercise continues from Exercise 1: Creating a Label Style (page 720).

Create a child label style

NOTE This exercise uses Labels-5a.dwg with the modifications you made in the
previous exercise.

1 Pan to station 0+080 on the West Street alignment.

2 Ctrl+click the station label 0+080. Right-click. Click Label Properties.

3 In the Properties palette, on the Design tab, click the value for Major
Station Label Style. Select Create/Edit from the list.

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4 In the Label Style dialog box, change the style to Perpendicular With
Line.

NOTE Make sure that you select Perpendicular With Line, and not
Perpendicular With Tick.

5 Click the arrow next to . Click Create Child Of Current Selection.

6 In the Label Style Composer, on the Information tab, change the style
name from Perpendicular With Line [Child] to Station Emphasis.

7 On the Layout tab, under Component Name, select Station.

8 Under Text specify the following parameters:


■ Text Height: 5.00mm

■ Attachment: Middle Left

9 Click OK twice.
The station is now displayed in large text that is attached to the end of
the line. The size and position of the text are properties of the new style,
Station Emphasis. The contents of the text, and the color and length of
the line are properties of the parent style, Perpendicular With Line.

10 Press Esc to deselect the label.

11 In the drawing, Ctrl+click the label 0+100. Change its style to


Perpendicular With Line, using the Properties palette.
Notice that in the style collection displayed in the Properties palette, the
new style is indented under its parent. You can also see this placement
in Toolspace, on the Settings tab, under Alignment ➤ Label Styles ➤
Station ➤ Major Station ➤ Perpendicular With Line.

Exercise 2: Using a Child Label Style | 725


Parent (STA: 0+100) and child (STA: 0+080) label styles

Notice that in the drawing, the STA:0+080 and STA:0+100 label text are
different sizes, and the text and line are aligned differently. A child style
shares its basic properties with the parent style from which it was created.
If a property value changes in the parent style, then the change is also
applied to the child style. If a property value changes in the child style,
the parent style is not affected.
By creating a child style, you have created the station display you need,
without affecting other parts of the drawing. If you had instead changed
the properties of the parent style, it would have automatically changed
the appearance of any other major stations using that style.
Next, you will set the parent style to override the text setting in the child
style.

Override the child label style

1 In Toolspace, on the Settings tab, expand the Alignment ➤ Label Styles


➤ Station ➤ Major Station collections.

2 Right-click Perpendicular With Line. Click Edit.

3 In the Label Style Composer dialog box, click the Summary tab.

4 Expand the Component 1 property.

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5 In the Text : Text Height row, click in the Child Override column.

In the Child Override column, is displayed, indicating that the


previously independent property of the child has been overridden by the
parent.

6 Click OK.
Notice that the labels now use the same text size. The STA: 0+080 label
text is now the same size as the STA: 0+000 label because the text height
of the parent style has overridden that of the child style. The alignment
of the line is still different because the text attachment point of the child
style was not overridden.

Parent (STA: 0+100) and child (STA: 0+080) label styles, with child text
size overridden by parent

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 3: Controlling Label Appearance Using


Layers (page 727).

Exercise 3: Controlling Label Appearance Using Layers


In this exercise, you will use layers to change the color and visibility of labels.
The components that make up a label object get their color, line weight, and
line type property settings from either the label style or the layer to which

Exercise 3: Controlling Label Appearance Using Layers | 727


the label style refers. When a label style refers to a specific layer, any label
style components that are set to either ByLayer or ByBlock inherit the
properties of that specific layer. However, if the label style refers to layer 0,
then any label style components that are set to either ByLayer or ByBlock
inherit their properties from the layer on which the label resides.
A label is an independent AutoCAD Civil 3D object that can be on a separate
layer from its parent object. However, the visibility of a label is linked to the
layer of the parent object. Turning off or freezing the layer of an object also
hides the labels of that object, even if they reside on a different layer.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topics Managing General
Properties for Label Styles and Managing Layout Properties for Label Styles.
This exercise continues from Exercise 2: Using a Child Label Style (page 724).

Examine how parent object layer state affects label visibility

NOTE This exercise uses Labels-5a.dwg with the modifications you made in the
previous exercise, or you can open Labels-5b.dwg from the tutorial drawings folder
(page 759).

1 On the West Street alignment, zoom and pan to the area between stations
0+100 and 0+120.

2 Click station label 0+120 to select all major station labels. Right-click.
Click Properties.
On the Properties palette, notice that the alignment station labels are on
layer C-ROAD-TEXT. If you look at the properties for the alignment itself,
you will see that it is on the C-ROAD layer.

3 Click Home tab ➤ Layers panel ➤ Layer list. Next to the C-ROAD layer,
click to turn off the C-ROAD layer.

4 On the command line, enter REGEN.


The alignment and its labels are hidden. This happened because, while
labels are independent objects on a separate layer, their visibility is linked
to the layer of the parent object, C-ROAD. Turning off the layer of an
object also hides the labels of that object, even if they reside on a different
layer.

NOTE The blue line that remains in place of the alignment is the polyline in
the externally referenced drawing, from which you created the alignment in
the Adding Labels In Groups (page 689) exercise.

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5 Click Home tab ➤ Layers panel ➤ Layer list. Next to the C-ROAD layer,
click to turn on the C-ROAD layer and the station labels.

6 On the command line, enter REGEN.

Create a label style that is not affected by the parent object layer

1 Select label 0+120 to select all major station labels. On the Properties
palette, under Labeling, click the field next to Major Station Label Style.
Click Create/Edit.

2 In the Major Station Label Style dialog box, click Edit Current
Selection.
In the Label Style Composer dialog box, on the General tab, in the Label
category, notice that the Layer is 0. If a label style is set to layer 0, any of
its color, line type, and line weight properties that are set to ByLayer or
ByBlock will inherit the corresponding properties of the layer on which
the label resides.

3 Click the Layout tab.


In the Text category, notice that the Color property for the Station
component is ByLayer. This means that the major station label text
inherits the color of the layer to which the style refers. Because the label
style refers to layer 0, the major station label text inherits the color of
the label object layer, which is C-ROAD_TEXT.

4 In the Color row, click the Value cell. Click and change the Station
component color to blue.
Notice that the text color updates in the Preview pane.

NOTE For greater control of color, lineweight, and linetype, keep all style
components set to either ByBlock or ByLayer, and the label style layer set to
0. Then, you can use the layers to modify these properties. This tutorial uses
a specific color setting to demonstrate how layer settings affect styles.

5 In the Component Name list, select Tick.


In the Tick category, notice that the Color property for the Tickcomponent
is ByLayer.

6 Click OK to apply the change in color to the Major Station component


and exit the Label Style Composer and Major Station Label Style dialog
boxes.

Exercise 3: Controlling Label Appearance Using Layers | 729


7 Press Esc to deselect the labels.

8 On the command line, enter REGEN.


Notice that while the ticks still inherit the red color from the
C-ROAD-TEXT layer, the text is blue.

Label style that uses color that differs from referenced layer

Add another label

1 Click Annotate tab ➤ Labels & Tables panel ➤ Add Labels


menu ➤ Alignment ➤ Single Segment .

2 When prompted to select a segment to label, click the alignment between


stations 0+060 and 0+080. When a label appears on the alignment, press
Enter to end the command.

730 | Chapter 18 Labels and Tables Tutorials


Segment label added to alignment

3 Select the new label. On the Properties palette, notice that the label is on
C-ROAD-TEXT.
When labels are created, they are placed on the layer specified for the
label object in the Drawing Settings dialog box on the Object Layers tab.
The drawing settings for this drawing specify that alignment labels are
created on the C-ROAD-TEXT layer. For more information, see the
AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Specifying Object Layer Settings.

4 On the Properties palette, click the field next to Line Label Style. Click
Create/Edit.

5 In the Line Label Style dialog box, click Edit Current Selection.
In the Label Style Composer dialog box, on the General tab, in the Label
category, notice that the layer style is C-ROAD-BRNG. This means that
if any of the color, line type, and line weight properties are set to ByLayer
or ByBlock, they inherit the corresponding properties of the
C-ROAD-BRNG layer, no matter what layer the label object is on.

Exercise 3: Controlling Label Appearance Using Layers | 731


6 Click the Layout tab.
Use the Component Name list to examine the properties of the various
label components. Notice that the Color of all the components is ByLayer,
except for the Direction Arrow component.
The label components that have their Color property set to ByLayer are
red because the color property of the C-ROAD-BRNG layer is red. The
direction arrow is blue because its Color property is blue.

7 Click Cancel to exit the Label Style Composer and Line Label Style dialog
boxes.

Examine the affects of layer visibility on the labels

1 Click Home tab ➤ Layers panel ➤ Layer list. Next to the C-ROAD-TEXT

layer, click to turn off the C-ROAD-TEXT layer.


The major station labels and ticks are hidden, but the tangent label you
added is not. The station labels were hidden because they are on the
C-ROAD-TEXT layer and their style refers to the C-ROAD-TEXT layer,
which you turned off. The tangent label is still visible because, while you
turned off the layer it is on, its style components refer to the
C-ROAD-BRNG layer, which is still visible.

732 | Chapter 18 Labels and Tables Tutorials


Station labels hidden

Notice that the STA:0+080 and STA:0+100 labels you changed in Exercise
2: Using a Child Label Style (page 724) are also still visible. This is because
the rest of the major station labels use the Perpendicular With Tick style,
which refers to layer 0. Labels STA=0+060 and STA=0+080 use the
Perpendicular With Lineand Station Emphasis styles, which refer to the
C-ROAD-LABL layer.

2 Click Home tab ➤ Layers panel ➤ Layer list. Next to the C-ROAD-TEXT

layer, click to turn on the C-ROAD-TEXT layer and the station labels.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 4: Changing the Dragged State of a


Label (page 733).

Exercise 4: Changing the Dragged State of a Label


In this exercise, you will modify a label style so that a label will display
differently when it is dragged from its original location.

Exercise 4: Changing the Dragged State of a Label | 733


Every label style has two default formats: one for when the label is initially
created in its normal layout location, and another that is applied when you
drag the label away from its normal layout location. The controls for editing
the dragged state of a label style are similar to those used for the layout state.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Managing Dragged
Properties for Label Styles.
This exercise continues from Exercise 3: Controlling Label Appearance Using
Layers (page 727).

Drag a label from its original location

NOTE This exercise uses Labels-5b.dwg with the modifications you made in the
previous exercise.

1 Zoom in so that you can see the 0+040 station label on the West Street
alignment. Click the label to select it and all the other major station
labels.

2 Click the grip and drag it away from the alignment.


The label is now in its dragged state. The text and leader line are red
because the dragged state of the label style is set to ByLayer. Keep this
label in view so you can see the effects of format changes as you make
them.

734 | Chapter 18 Labels and Tables Tutorials


Major station label 0+040 in dragged state

Change the dragged state of the label

1 In Toolspace, on the Settings tab, expand Alignment ➤ Label Styles ➤


Station ➤ Major Station. Right-click Perpendicular With Tick. Click Edit.

2 In the Label Style Composer dialog box, click the Dragged State tab.
In both the Leader and Dragged State Components categories, notice that
the Color, Linetype, and Lineweight properties are all either ByLayer or
ByBlock. These settings indicate that when a label is in dragged state, it
inherits these properties from either the layer on which the label resides
or the block that contains it.

TIP Because the Preview pane does not show the dragged state of the label,
position the Label Style Composer so that you can see a dragged-state label
in the drawing. Each time you change a label property, you can click Apply
to see the effects.

3 In the Dragged State Components area, change the Display value to As


Composed. Click Apply.

Exercise 4: Changing the Dragged State of a Label | 735


The label returns to the original layout property settings, and all other
style controls in this area are disabled. This type of dragged-state format
is easy to apply, but is not suitable for all label types. In particular, note
that the leader line does not adapt well to all possible dragged locations.

4 Change the Display value back to Stacked Text. Click Apply.


If your label has multiple lines of text, the Stacked Text setting keeps
them all stacked horizontally in a compact block. You can see this in
action by dragging one of the curve labels from its layout location.

5 Change each of the following property values. Click Apply after each
change to see their effects.
■ Leader Type: Spline Leader

■ Border Visibility: True

■ Border Type: Rounded Rectangular

■ Border and Leader Gap: 2.0mm

■ Leader Attachment: Top Of Top Line

6 After you have applied all the changes that you want to see in the dragged
state, click OK.

736 | Chapter 18 Labels and Tables Tutorials


Modified dragged state: major station label 0+040

NOTE To return a dragged label to its original layout format, click the
grip.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 5: Changing a Label Style (page 737).

Exercise 5: Changing a Label Style


In this exercise, you will learn several ways to change label styles.
Depending on the type of label type you must change, and how many labels
of that label type you must change, you can change label styles at the following
levels:

■ Single label objects, including alignment curve and tangent labels.

■ Groups of label objects, including alignment station and geometry point


labels.

Exercise 5: Changing a Label Style | 737


■ Individual label objects that are part of a group, such as a single alignment
station label.

■ Individually labeled objects in the Prospector list view, including parcels,


points, and pipe network objects.
See Exercise 1: Creating a Parcel Area Table (page 712) for information about
changing parcel area label styles using the Prospector list view.

For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Modifying Labels
in a Drawing.
This exercise continues from Exercise 4: Changing the Dragged State of a Label
(page 733).

Change the label style of a single label object

NOTE This exercise uses Labels-5b.dwg with the modifications you made in the
previous exercise, or you can open Labels-5c.dwg from the tutorial drawings folder
(page 759).

1 Pan and zoom to the area at the end of the West Street cul-de-sac.

2 Click the red curve label between stations 0+200 and 0+220 on West
Street.
Grips appear on the curve label, but no other labels are selected. This
label is a single label object that is not part of a group of labels.

3 Right-click the label. Click Properties.

4 On the Properties palette, in the Curve Label Style list, notice that you
can select a General Curve Label Style. General styles can be applied to
line and curve labels that annotate alignment, profile, or parcel segments.
Select General Curve Label Style ➤ Radius Only.
The individual curve label style changes, but the remaining curve labels
on the cul-de-sac are not affected.

5 Press Esc to deselect the label.

738 | Chapter 18 Labels and Tables Tutorials


Curve label style changed

Change the label style of a group of label objects

1 Click the 0+220 station label.


Grips appear on all the station labels, indicating that station label 0+220
is part of the station label group.

2 Right-click the label. Click Properties.

3 On the Properties palette, in the Major Station Label Style list, select
Parallel With Tick.
The label style changes for all major station labels on West Street.

4 Press Esc to deselect the major station labels.

Exercise 5: Changing a Label Style | 739


Major station label type group style changed

Change the label style of an individual label object that is part of a group

1 Ctrl+click the 0+060 station label.


A grip appears only on label 0+060. The other major station labels are
not selected.

2 Right-click the label. Click Properties.

3 On the Properties palette, in the Major Station Label Style list, select
Perpendicular With Line.
The label style changes for only station label 0+060. The rest of the major
station labels on West Street retain their current style.

4 Press Esc to deselect the label.

740 | Chapter 18 Labels and Tables Tutorials


Major station label type style changed: STA: 0+060 only

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 6: Creating a Label Style that Refers


to Another Object (page 741).

Exercise 6: Creating a Label Style that Refers to Another


Object
In this exercise, you will use the reference text component to create a single
label style that annotates two objects of different types.
The Reference Text label component is used to annotate multiple types of
objects with a single label. You can insert references to surfaces, profiles,
parcels, and alignments. Each reference text component can refer to only one
AutoCAD Civil 3D object. If you need a label style to refer to several objects,
create a separate reference text component for each referenced object.
In this exercise, you will create a label style that displays the alignment station
and surface elevation at each horizontal geometry point.

Exercise 6: Creating a Label Style that Refers to Another Object | 741


For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Referenced Text.
This exercise continues from Exercise 5: Changing a Label Style (page 737).

Create a label style that refers to another object

NOTE This exercise uses Labels-5c.dwg with the modifications you made in the
previous exercise.

1 In Toolspace, on the Settings tab, expand the Alignment ➤ Label Styles


➤ Station ➤ Geometry Point collection. Right-click Perpendicular With
Tick And Line. Click Copy.

2 In the Label Style Composer dialog box, on the Information tab, for
Name, enter Surface Elevation at Alignment Station.

3 Click the Layout tab.


You can use this tab to create and edit label style components. You will
modify the existing line and geometry point components, and then create
two new label components for the new label style. The first component
will display the surface elevation, and the second component will display
the alignment station.

4 Under Component Name, select Line. Specify the following parameters:


■ Start Point Anchor Component: Tick

■ Start Point Anchor Point: Middle Center

■ Length: 15.00mm

5 Under Component Name, select Geometry Point & Station. Specify the
following parameters:
■ Start Point Anchor Component: Line

■ Anchor Point: End

■ Attachment: Middle Left

■ X Offset: 2.00mm

6 Click the arrow next to . Click Reference Text.


A reference text label component refers to other object types in the
drawing, instead of to the object type you are labeling. In this case, the
reference text component will refer to a surface object.

742 | Chapter 18 Labels and Tables Tutorials


7 In the Select Type dialog box, select Surface. Click OK.

8 In the Label Style Composer dialog box, specify the following parameters:
■ Name: Elevation

■ Anchor Component: Geometry Point & Station

■ Anchor Point: Bottom Left

■ Attachment: Top Left

9 Under Text, in the Contents row, click the Value cell. Click .

10 In the Text Component Editor dialog box, in the preview pane, replace

Label Text with EL:. Under Properties, select Surface Elevation. Click
to move the Surface Elevation property to the preview pane.
The property block in the preview pane should look like this:
EL: <[Surface Elevation(Um|P3|RN|AP|Sn|OF)]>

11 Click OK.

12 In the Label Style Composer dialog box, click the General tab. Set the
Flip Anchors With Text property to True.
Using this setting ensures that when the labels are flipped to maintain
plan readability, they will display as mirror images of the original labels.

13 In the Label Style Composer dialog box, click OK.

To apply the label style that refers to another object

1 In the drawing, pan to the intersection of the Main Street and East Street
alignments.

2 Click Annotate tab ➤ Labels & Tables panel ➤ Add Labels


menu ➤ Alignment ➤ Add/Edit Station Labels . Click one of the station
labels on the East Street alignment.

3 In the Alignment Labels dialog box, specify the following parameters:


■ Type: Geometry Points

■ Geometry Point Label Style: Surface Elevation At Alignment Station

4 Click Add.

Exercise 6: Creating a Label Style that Refers to Another Object | 743


5 In the Geometry Points dialog box, click to clear all check boxes.
Select the Alignment Beginning check box. Click OK.

6 In the Alignment Labels dialog box, click OK.

7 Drag the label to a clear location, if necessary.


Notice that the label is added to the alignment, but the elevation value
is displayed as ???. These characters are displayed because you have not
associated a surface with the Elevation component.

Label style that refers to an alignment and surface, with no


surface associated with the label

8 Ctrl+click the Surface Elevation At Alignment Station label. Right-click.


Click Label Properties.

9 In the Properties palette, under Reference Text Objects, click the cell to

the right of Surface Elevation At Alignment Station. Click .

10 In the drawing, click the green surface border. Press Esc to deselect the
label.
Examine the label. The surface elevation at the intersection of the
alignments is now displayed.

744 | Chapter 18 Labels and Tables Tutorials


Label style that refers to an alignment and surface

To continue to the next tutorial, go to Using Expressions in Labels (page 745).

Tutorial: Using Expressions in Labels


This tutorial demonstrates how to use expressions, which are mathematical
formulas that modify a property within a label style.
You use text, lines, and block data components to present static data in a label
style. Expressions modify the data in the standard label style components. For
example, in the Layout tab of the Label Style Composer dialog box, you can
insert an expression in place of a static value when determining the text height
of a label. This expression could increase the text height of a spot elevation
label to coincide with the elevation height.
In this tutorial, you will update an existing label style to add an expression
that displays magnetic compass directions of the alignment at each geometry
point.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Expressions.

Tutorial: Using Expressions in Labels | 745


Exercise 1: Creating an Expression
In this exercise, you will create an expression that calculates the magnetic
compass direction of an alignment at each geometry point.
Expressions make use of the same properties that you can add to label styles,
such as Point Elevation, Northing, and Easting. By using expressions, you can
set up separate mathematical formulas, using the existing properties. For
example, you could subtract a value from a point elevation, and display that
number along side the actual elevation in a point label.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Setting Up
Expressions.

Create an expression

NOTE This exercise uses Labels-5c.dwg with the modifications you made in the
previous exercise, or you can open Labels-6a.dwg from the tutorial drawings folder
(page 759).

1 Zoom and pan to the area between stations 0+000 and 0+100 of the Main
Street alignment.

2 Click the PC: 0+035.99 label to select all geometry point labels. Right-click.
Click Properties.

3 On the Properties palette, in the Geometry Point Label Style list, select
Additional Details.
This label style displays geometry points, design speed, and true compass
direction at the geometry point. In the next few steps, you will create an
expression to calculate the magnetic direction. You will add this
expression to the geometry point label in Exercise 2: Inserting an
Expression Into a Label Style (page 747).

4 In Toolspace, on the Settings tab, expand Alignment ➤ Label Styles ➤


Station ➤ Geometry Point. Right-click the Expressions node. Click New.

5 In the New Expression dialog box, specify the following parameters:


■ Name: Magnetic Direction

■ Description: Converts true to magnetic for declination -15.5 degrees.

6 Click Insert Property. Click Instantaneous Direction.


This property will be used as the basis for computing the magnetic
direction.

746 | Chapter 18 Labels and Tables Tutorials


7 In the New Expression dialog box, in the Expression field, use the keypad
to enter -15.5*(2*pi/360)) .

NOTE Use the button to enter pi.

The completed equation looks like this:


{Instantaneous Direction}-(15.5*(2*pi/360))
The expression includes a conversion from degrees to radians because
AutoCAD Civil 3D uses radians for all internal angle calculations. The
value used for declination of magnetic North (-15.5 degrees) is just an
example. To be accurate, this must match the current value, subject to
geographical location and gradual changes over time.

8 In the Format Result As list, select Direction.

9 Click OK.

In Toolspace, on the Settings tab, appears next to the Expressions


node, and the new expression appears in the list view.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Inserting an Expression Into a Label


Style (page 747).

Exercise 2: Inserting an Expression Into a Label Style


In this exercise, you will insert an expression into an existing label style.
After you set up expressions, they are available in the Properties list in the
Text Component Editor so that you can add them to label styles. In effect,
expressions become new properties that you can use to compose a label style.
Expressions are unique to a particular label style type. Only those properties
that are relevant to the label style type are available in the Expressions dialog
box.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Inserting Expressions
into Label Styles as Properties.
This exercise continues from Exercise 1: Creating an Expression (page 746).

Exercise 2: Inserting an Expression Into a Label Style | 747


Insert an expression into a label style

NOTE This exercise uses Labels-6a.dwg with the modifications you made in the
previous exercise.

1 In Toolspace, on the Settings tab, expand Alignment ➤ Label Styles ➤


Station ➤ Geometry Point. Right-click Additional Details. Click Edit.

2 In the Label Style Composer dialog box, on the Layout tab, under Text,

in the Contents row, click the Value column. Click .

3 In the Text Component Editor, in the Preview pane, place the cursor on
a new line below the last property (True Instantaneous Direction).

4 Enter the following text, including the space after the colon: MAG: .

5 On the Properties tab, in the Properties list, select Magnetic Direction,


which is the expression you created in Exercise 1: Creating an Expression
(page 746), at the top of the list.

6 In the table, ensure that the value for Unit is Degree, and the Format is
DD°MM’SS.SS” (unspaced).

7 Ensure that the cursor in the right window is located just after the Mag:

label text. Click to add the magnetic compass direction to the label
formula.

8 Click OK.
The modified labels appear in the Preview pane of the Label Style
Composer dialog box.

9 In the Label Style Composer dialog box, click OK.

10 Press Esc to deselect the labels.


Examine the geometry point labels to see the effect of the expression you
added.

748 | Chapter 18 Labels and Tables Tutorials


Plan Production Tutorials
19
These tutorials will get you started working with the plan production tools, which automate
the process of creating construction documents from your designs.
The plan production tools simplify the process for preparing sheets from your design drawings.
However, these tutorial exercises do not go into detail about the Sheet Set Manager or plotting
or publishing processes. For information about these features, see the AutoCAD Help.
You can use the plan production tools with or without using project management (Autodesk
Vault). If you choose to manage your plan production files (sheet set files, sheet files, templates)
with Autodesk Vault, you must log in to the appropriate project and have the necessary files
checked out for editing. For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Using
Vault with Plan Production Tools.
The following tutorial exercises do not use the Autodesk Vault (project management) features.

NOTE All drawings used in these tutorials are available in the tutorial drawings folder (page
759). If you want to save your work from these tutorials, save the drawings to the My Civil
Tutorial Data folder (page 759) so that you do not overwrite the original drawings.

For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Understanding Plan Production
Tools.

Tutorial: Using the Plan Production Tools


This tutorial demonstrates how to use the plan production tools to prepare your
design for plotting or publishing.
Using the two plan production tool wizards, you can quickly create sheets that
automatically display segments of alignments and profiles in your plans.
Instead of having to manually create many viewports on layouts to show
segments of alignments, you can create view frames that automatically capture
predefined areas along an alignment. This automation saves you from making
manual changes when your design data changes. After you select an alignment

749
in your drawing, in just a few seconds you can create sheets that automatically
display the desired data.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Understanding
Plan Production Tools.

Exercise 1: Configuring Viewports


In this exercise, you will learn how to prepare an existing drawing template
for use with the plan production tools.
Before using your own custom templates for plan production, you must set
the layout viewport type to either Plan or Profile.
By default, most of the templates provided with AutoCAD Civil 3D have the
Viewport Type property set to Undefined. However, the plan production
templates that are included have viewports that are already configured to the
appropriate viewport type: plan or profile.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Configuring
Viewports for Plan Production.

Examine viewport properties in an existing template

1 Click Quick Access toolbar ➤ Open. Navigate to the local


Template\Plan Production folder (page 759). Open Civil 3D (Imperial) Plan
and Profile.dwt.

NOTE In the Select File dialog box, ensure that Files of Type is set to Drawing
Template (*.dwt).

The template contains two viewports.

2 Select the top viewport. Right-click. Click Properties.


Examine the settings of the viewport, including the size and position
contained in the Geometry category.

3 On the Properties palette, scroll down to the Viewport category.

4 Double-click the cell next to Viewport Type.


The drop-down list displays the configuration options for the viewport.
The current (top) viewport is set to Plan, while the bottom viewport is
set to Profile. These settings specify that when you use this template in
the plan production process, the plan view of the alignment will appear

750 | Chapter 19 Plan Production Tutorials


in the top viewport, and the corresponding profile will appear in the
bottom viewport.
By default, all templates that are not contained in the local Template\Plan
Production folder (page 759) have their Viewport Type set to Undefined.
To configure your custom templates for use with the plan production
process, you must change the viewport setting as appropriate.

5 Close Civil 3D (Imperial) Plan and Profile.dwt, but do not save it.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 2: Creating View Frames (page 751).

Exercise 2: Creating View Frames


In this exercise, you will use the Create View Frames wizard to quickly create
view frames along an alignment.
View frames are rectangular areas along an alignment that represent what is
displayed in the associated viewports on the layouts (sheets) to be created.
Before you create view frames, you must have the desired alignment already
in your drawing. Depending on the type of sheets you want to produce (plan
only, profile only, or plan and profile), you may also need to have a profile
already created. If you are creating plan only sheets, then you do not need to
have a profile in the drawing.
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Creating View
Frames.

Create view frames

1 Open Plan Production-1.dwg, which is located in the tutorial drawings folder


(page 759).

NOTE In the Select File dialog box, ensure that Files of Type is set to Drawing
(*.dwg).

2 Click Output tab ➤ Plan Production panel ➤ Create View Frames .

3 In the Create View Frames wizard, on the Alignment page, specify the
following parameters:
■ Alignment: Maple Road

■ Station Range: Automatic


This setting selects the entire Maple Road alignment.

Exercise 2: Creating View Frames | 751


4 Click Next.

5 On the Sheets page, under Sheet Settings, select Plan And Profile.
This setting creates sheets that display both plan and profile views for
each view frame.

6 Under Template For Plan And Profile Sheet, click .

7 In the Select Layout As Sheet Template dialog box, click .

8 In the Select Layout As Sheet Template dialog box, browse to the local
Template\Plan Production folder (page 759). Select Civil 3D (Imperial) Plan
and Profile.dwt. Click Open.

9 In the Select Layout As Sheet Template dialog box, under Select A Layout
To Create New Sheets, select ANSI D Plan And Profile 40 Scale.

10 Click OK.

11 In the View Frame Placement section, select Along Alignment.


This setting aligns the view frames along the alignment, as shown in the
graphic in the wizard.

12 Select the Set The First View Frame Before The Start Of The Alignment
By option, and enter 50.000’ in the value field.
This option sets the distance that the first view frame is placed before the
start of the alignment. Entering a distance here provides the specified
amount of space before the alignment starting station. This distance
ensures that the alignment start location does not coincide with the start
of the view frame. If this check box is not selected, then the first view
frame is placed at the start of the alignment.

13 Click Next to open the View Frame Group page.


View frame groups are created automatically. This page lets you specify
the object creation criteria for the view frame group object. Examine the
settings that are available, but accept the default settings for this exercise.

14 Click Next to open the Match Lines page.


Match lines are straight lines that are drawn across an alignment in plan
view to indicate where the corresponding sheet for that alignment begins
and ends. Match lines typically include labels that can identify the
previous and next sheet (view frame) along the alignment. Examine the
settings that are available, but accept the default settings for this exercise.

15 Click Next.

752 | Chapter 19 Plan Production Tutorials


16 On the Profile Views page, specify the following parameters:
■ Profile View Style: Major Grids

■ Band Set: Stations Only

17 Click Create View Frames.


The view frames are displayed along the alignment in the drawing
window. The match lines are displayed as annotated lines between the
view frames.

18 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, expand View Frame Groups, then


expand the VFG - Maple Road collection.

Exercise 2: Creating View Frames | 753


Expand the View Frames and Match Lines collections. Notice that they
contain the same components you created during the view frame group
creation process.

19 In Toolspace, on the Prospector tab, right-click one of the view frames.


Notice that you may zoom or pan to the view frame in the drawing.
Notice that you may also create a sheet for the individual view frame. In
the next exercise, you will create sheets for all the view frames.

Save the drawing

1 Click ➤ Save As.

2 In the Save Drawing As dialog box, navigate to the My Civil Tutorial Data
folder (page 759).

3 In the File Name area, enter Plan Production Tutorial.dwg. Click Save.

To continue this tutorial, go to Exercise 3: Creating Sheets (page 754).

Exercise 3: Creating Sheets


In this exercise, you will create sheets from the view frames you created in
the previous exercise.
After you have used the Create View Frames wizard to create view frames,
then you can create sheets using the Create Sheets wizard.
The sheets that are created represent the layouts (sheets) that are used for
construction documents (plans).
For more information, see the AutoCAD Civil 3D Help topic Creating Sheets.
This exercise continues from Exercise 2: Creating View Frames (page 751).

Specify the sheet creation settings

NOTE This exercise uses Plan Production-1.dwg with the modifications you made
in the previous exercise.

1 Click Output tab ➤ Plan Production panel ➤ Create Sheets .

754 | Chapter 19 Plan Production Tutorials


NOTE On any page of this wizard, you may click Create Sheets to create the
sheets using the default choices on the wizard pages. If there are criteria that
have not been supplied, then the Create Sheets button is not available.

2 In the Create Sheets wizard, on the View Frame Group And Layouts page,
specify the following parameters:
■ View Frame Group: VFG - Maple Road.
Notice that you may select all view frames in the group or a selection
of view frames within the currently selected view frame group.

■ Layout Creation: Number Of Layouts Per New Drawing. Accept the


default value of 1.
This option creates a drawing for each layout (sheet). If you enter a
value greater than one, three for example, three layouts are created
in each new drawing. The total number of sheets and drawings would
depend on the length of the alignment selected and other criteria,
such as the size and scale of the viewports in the referenced template.
You can only enter an integer that is between zero and 256.

■ Choose The North Arrow Block To Align In Layouts: North.


This option orients a North arrow block that is defined in the template.
This list is populated with all blocks that are present in the current
drawing. Notice that there is a (none) selection available, if you do
not wish to include a North arrow block.

3 Click Next.

4 On the Sheet Set page, under Sheet Set, select New Sheet Set.
This option specifies that a new sheet set be created to organize the new
sheets. A sheet set allows you to manage and publish a series of sheets as
a unit. In the following steps, you will specify a location for the individual
sheets and the sheet set data (DST) file. For best results, store the sheet
set data file and its associated sheet files in the same location. For more
information about working with sheets and sheet sets, see the AutoCAD
Help.

5 Click next to Sheet Set File (.DST) Storage Location.

6 In the Browse For Sheet Set Folder dialog box, navigate to the My Civil
Tutorial Data folder (page 759). Click Open.

7 Click next to Sheet Files Storage Location.

Exercise 3: Creating Sheets | 755


8 In the Browse For Folder dialog box, navigate to the My Civil Tutorial Data
folder (page 759). Click Open.

9 Click Next.

NOTE If the view frames do not include any profile views, then the Profile
Views page in the Create Sheets wizard is skipped. The Data References page
is displayed next.

10 On the Profile Views page, under Other Profile View Options, select
Choose Settings.

NOTE You specified the Profile View Settings during Exercise 2: Creating
View Frames (page 751).

11 Click Profile View Wizard.

12 In the Create Multiple Profile Views wizard, use the links along the left
side or the Back and Next buttons to examine the available settings. Many
of the settings are not available because they are already defined by the
currently selected view frame group.
For more information, see the Creating Multiple Profile Views (page 303)
tutorial exercise.

13 Click Finish.

14 In the Create Sheets wizard, under Align Views, select Align Profile And
Plan View At Start.
This option aligns the alignment starting station in plan view with the
profile starting station in profile view. The profile view shifts to the right
to accommodate the exact alignment starting station.

15 Click Next.

16 On the Data References page, you can select or omit the objects for which
you want references included in your sheets. Notice that the Maple Road
alignment and profile are selected by default.

17 Select the check box next to Pipe Networks.

Create sheets

1 Click Create Sheets to close the wizard and create the sheets. When you
are prompted to save the current drawing, click OK.

756 | Chapter 19 Plan Production Tutorials


2 When prompted, pan to a clear area in the drawing, then click a location
for the profile view origin.
After your sheets are created, the Sheet Set Manager is displayed, showing
the newly created sheets. For more information on the Sheet Set Manager,
see the Sheet Set Manager Help topics in the AutoCAD Help.

3 If the Sheet Set Manager does not open, enter SHEETSET on the command
line.

4 On the Sheet Set Manager, select Open from the drop-down list.

5 On the Open Sheet Set dialog box, navigate to the My Civil Tutorial Data
folder (page 759) and select VFG - Maple Road.dst. Click Open.
On the Sheet Set Manager, notice that the VFG - Maple Road - (1).dst is
open, displaying the five sheets that were created.

6 Select one of the sheets in the list. Right-click and select Open.
The sheet opens as a new drawing.

NOTE You can publish your sheet(s) directly from the Sheet Set Manager or
share them by using the eTransmit feature.

Exercise 3: Creating Sheets | 757


758
Tutorial Folder Locations

Assemblies folder Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\All


Users\Application Data\Autodesk\C3D2010\enu\Assemblies\
Windows Vista: C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\C3D2010\enu\Assemblies\

Autodesk Documents folder Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\[user


name]\My Documents\Autodesk
Windows Vista: C:\Users\[user name]\Documents\Autodesk

Civil 3D Project Templates folder C:\Civil 3D Project Templates

Civil 3D Projects folder C:\Civil 3D Projects

Data folder Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application


Data\Autodesk\C3D2010\enu\Data\
Windows Vista: C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\C3D2010\enu\Data\

Local Template folder Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\[user


name]\Local Settings\Application Data\Autodesk\C3D2010\enu\Template\
Windows Vista: C:\Users\[user
name]\AppData\Local\Autodesk\C3D2010\enu\Template\

My Civil Tutorial Data folder If this folder does not already exist, create it
at the following location to save the tutorial drawings as you work on them:
Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\[user name]\My Documents\Autodesk
Windows Vista: C:\Users\[user name]\Documents\Autodesk

tutorial drawings folder <AutoCAD Civil 3D installation location>\Help\Civil


Tutorials\Drawings

tutorial folder <AutoCAD Civil 3D installation location>\Help\Civil Tutorials

Glossary | 759
760
Index
A astronomic direction calculator, using for
azimuth calculations 155
alignments AutoCAD Civil 3D, overview 5
creating 201 Autodesk Vault. See Vault
creating from AutoCAD objects 202
creating with layout tools 204
criteria-based design, correcting B
violations 244 blocks
criteria-based design, creating multi-view, moving to surface 100
with 239 borrow pits, adding 542
curves and spirals, adding 207 See also dump sites
design checks, working with 247 boundaries
design criteria file, working adding to surface 82
with 250 corridor, creating 465
editing 213, 216 data clip 63
floating curves, adding 209 outer, adding to a surface 60
grip editing 216 breaklines
mask, applying to an alignment adding 55
region 217
offset alignments
editing 227 C
working with 223
offset alignments, creating 224 catchment areas, calculating 90
parameters, editing 214 catchment regions
parcels, working with 339 creating 90
selecting subentities 214 commands
site interaction 339 finding 6
tutorials 201 comparison surfaces, creating 95
widenings contour data
adding 230, 234 adding to surfaces 52
assemblies corridor
copying to a tool catalog 430 basic, creating 438
divided highway, creating 450 divided highway, creating 455
managing 410 with transition lane, creating 445
name template, modifying 406 corridor section viewer
saving and sharing 428 using 456
saving to a tool palette 428 corridor surface
simple, creating 402 boundaries, creating 465
tutorials 401 creating 462
with conditional subassemblies 412 rendering 469
assembly corridors
with transition lane, creating 442 boundaries, creating 465

Index | 761
earthwork volumes, calculating 533 drawings
tutorials 437 externally referenced, displaying 31
viewing and rendering 462 externally referenced, removing 34
viewing sections 456 dump sites, adding 542
viewing superelevation See also borrow pits
properties 450 DYN. See dynamic input
with a transition lane, creating 441 dynamic input 17
criteria-based design
correcting violations 244
criteria violations, correcting 279 E
design checks, working with 247 elevation
design criteria file, modifying 250 editing in a grading 380
designing an alignment using 239 exporting
designing profiles using 275 parcel data 365
drawing profiles using 277 Vault projects 199
cross sections expressions
displaying on alignments 515 as label style components 747
curves creating 746
adding floating curves 209 inserting in a label 747
adding free curves 207 labels, using in 745
cut and fill volumes, adjusting 382 external references
to drawings 31
D
data bands F
adding to profile view 310 feature lines
adding to section views 530 creating 372
displaying and managing 309 crossing, working with 395
editing in profile view 310 elevations, assigning 375
labels, moving 315 elevations, editing 395
styles, editing 318 offsetting, in grading 385
data shortcut projects, importing into rounding corners in 385
Vault 200 smoothing 392
data shortcuts using as breaklines, in grading 394
creating 175 figures
project folder, setting up 172 editing 134
referencing 177 floating curves
using 171 adding to alignments 209
description keys free curves, adding to alignments 207
creating 25–26
design checks
working with 247 G
design criteria file
modifying 250 Google Earth
display order, parcels 362 image, importing 110
publishing design data to 106

762 | Index
grading L
building footprints, simplifying 385
complex footprints, working labels
with 384 adding and editing 688
corners, inside 392 adding to drawings 696
creating 372, 377, 388 appearance, controlling using
criteria, creating 368 layers 727
criteria, editing 383 changing appearance 720
editing 380, 392 content, changing 707
elevation, editing 380 creating child styles 724
filling a void area 390 data band, staggering in 315
point of vertical intersection dragged state, managing 733
(PVI) 375, 395 expressions 745
settings, reviewing 368 externally referenced drawings
standards, setting up 367 and 684
styles, creating 371 label text, overriding 708
surfaces 394 layers 727
tutorials 367 levels of settings, defining 709
volume balancing 382 moving in drawings 699
pipe networks 590
preparation 684
H properties 705
hatching referencing other objects 741
corridors 469 section view 529
horizontal alignments, tutorials 201 selecting 699
sets, using 689
styles 720, 737
I styles, creating 720
tags 714
intersection tags, numbering 718
all crowns maintained, creating 474 tutorials 683
three-way, creating 474 xref 684
intersections xref drawing, creating in 689
corridor, creating in 509 layers
creating 473 label objects 727
editing 492 layout profiles
horizontal geometry, editing 492 creating 266
offset alignments and profiles, editing 270
creating from existing 485 least squares analysis
primary road crown maintained, reducing survey information
creating 480 with 140
recreating corridors 509 linework code sets
tutorials 473 creating 123
vertical geometry, editing 501
with turn lanes, creating 480

Index | 763
M Panorama window
using 12
mapcheck analysis. See mapcheck reports parcels
mapcheck reports alignments, and 339
data, working with 167 area table, creating 712
entering data manually 164 AutoCAD objects, creating parcels
parcel 161 from 321
mapcheck reports, used in parcel creating 321
export 365 from AutoCAD objects 322
mass haul diagrams data, exporting 365
balancing volumes in 542 display order 362
creating 540 displaying and analyzing 361
creating and editing 538 editing 341
mass haul lines free-form segment, subdividing a
styles 545 parcel with 325
match lines geometry, editing 355
creating with view frames 751 size, editing 342, 348
material calculation slide line, subdividing a parcel
tutorials 533 with 328, 342
model views, viewing civil objects in 21 swing line, subdividing a parcel
multi-view blocks with 335, 348
moving to surface 100 tutorials 321
multiple profile views Part Builder
creating 303 creating cylindrical manhole structure
in plan production 303 in 601
creating drop inlet manhole structure
in 620
N creating vault structure in 649
named views, using 17 tutorial 601
verifying new part 617
parts list
O adding parts to 583
pay item quantities
object snap, using 16 AutoCAD objects, assigning pay item
objects codes to 550
deselecting 16 calculating and reporting 547
extracting from surface 89 corridors, assigning pay item codes
selecting 16 to 560
viewing 17 formulas, creating for pay items 566
offset profiles, designing 272 pay item categorization file,
OSNAP. See object snap loading 548
outer boundaries, adding 60 pay item list, creating 569
pay item list, loading and
P navigating 548
pipe network parts, assigning pay item
pan and zoom controls 15 codes to 556

764 | Index
reports, generating 563 importing 29
pipe networks tutorials 25
branch, adding 586 user-defined properties 36
creating 573–574 profile views
cylindrical manhole structure, creating and displaying 258
creating 601 data bands 310
drop inlet manhole structure, displaying 258
creating 620 displaying and managing 282
labels, adding to pipe network hatch patterns between profiles,
parts 590 adding 289
layout, creating by 579 managing 282
parts list, adding parts to 583 multiple line 305
parts, adding to a pipe network 581 multiple, creating 303
parts, viewing in section view 596 pipe network, drawing 589
pipe and structure tables, pipe network, editing 593
creating 597 projected objects, adding 293
profile view, editing in 593 splitting 300
profile view, viewing in 589 stacked, creating 305
properties 583 styles, editing 283
surface, alignment, and rules, profiles
changing 585 characteristics, reviewing 263
tutorials 573 copying 272
vault structure, creating 649 creating 253
viewing and editing 589 criteria-based design 277
pipe tables 597 criteria-based design in 275, 279
plan production criteria, specifying 276
sheets, creating 754 design 265
tools, using 749 finished grade 265
tutorials 749 hatch patterns between, adding 289
view frames, creating 751 layout 265–266, 270
viewports, configuring 750 locked PVIs, editing 501
point data multiple line 305
creating 25 offsetting vertically 272
point groups stacked 305
creating 27 style, changing 260
display order, changing 33 surface 257–258
displaying 30 tutorials 253
editing 30 project management
style, changing 32 data shortcuts, using 171
user-defined properties, assigning tutorials 171
to 41 project objects
points checking in 193
description keys and point checking out 192
groups 25 modifying 192
description keys, creating 26 reference to, creating 190
editing 35 tutorials 188

Index | 765
updating 194 data band, adding 530
project point data 195 data, adding 521
project points grade labels, adding 529
checking in 198 pipe network parts, viewing in 596
checking out 197 projected objects, adding 521
modifying 197 sections
projected objects corridor, editing 459
profile views, adding to 293 corridor, viewing 456
section views, adding to 521 displaying on alignments 515
projects tutorials 515
adding drawings to 189 settings
adding points to 195 survey 120
creating 187 Sheet Set Manager
exporting 199 plan production, using with 754
groups, creating 185 sheets
importing 200 plan production, creating for 754
logging in to 183 shortcut menus, using 15
object data 188 smoothing
setting up 183 surfaces 84
specifying path 183 split profiles 300
user accounts, creating 185 structure tables 597
styles
changing 19
Q grading, creating 371
quantity takeoff labels 720
criteria settings, reviewing 534 parts, overriding in pipe
volumes, calculating 537 network 595
profile 260
watersheds 86
R superelevation
viewing properties of an
rendering alignment 450
corridors 462 surface profiles, creating and
surfaces 103 displaying 258
ribbon surfaces
finding Civil commands 6 analyzing 85
right-click menus. See shortcut menus comparison, creating 95
contour data, adding 52
S creating and adding data to 47
data, editing 75
sample lines data, publishing to Google
creating 516 Earth 106
sample tutorial drawings draping images on 105, 113
saving 3 imported data, limiting 63
section views labeling 73
creating 518 large, working with 62

766 | Index
moving multi-view blocks to 100 T
objects, extracting from 89
outer boundaries, adding 60 tables
profile 257 creating 712
profile characteristics 263 pipe and structure 597
rendering 103 tutorials 683
simplifying 68 working with 711
smoothing 84 tags
style and display, changing 70 labels used as 714
styles, editing 71 renumbering 718
styles, switching 72 working with 711
TIN 51 TIN edges, swapping 77
tutorials 47 TIN lines
visualizing 100 deleting from surface 80
volume information, generating 94 TIN surfaces
volume, calculating 99 creating 51
survey volume, creating 98
astronomic direction calculator 155 tool catalogs
database, setting up 118 copying assemblies to 430
equipment database 118 installing 434
figure prefix database 118 publishing 433
importing data 124 tool palettes
information, reducing using least adding assemblies to 428
squares analysis 140 Toolspace window
output 159 overview 10
reprocessing data 127 traverse analysis
settings, adjusting 120 using to reduce survey data 138
setup 117 traverse editor
styles 122 creating survey data with 148
traverse analysis 138 tutorials
tutorials 117 alignments 201
viewing data 132 assemblies 401
survey command window corridors 437
creating survey data with 152 grading 367
survey data intersections 473
adding manualy 144 labels and tables 683
analyzing 135 material calculation 533
creating 144, 148, 152 overview 1
querying 136 parcels 321
viewing 132 Part Builder 601
survey databases pipe networks 573
translating 142 plan production 749
survey figures points 25
editing 134 profiles 253
project management 171
sample drawings 1

Index | 767
saving sample drawings 3 setting up 17
sections 515 visual styles
surfaces 47 applying 21
survey 117 visualization
corridors 462, 469
surface 100
U volume calculation, creating 99
user interface volumes
overview 5 mass haul, balancing in 542
user-defined properties
adding to points 36 W
assigning to point groups 41
creating 37 water drop analysis
importing points with 42 configuring 90
labels for 39 creating 85
point file formats for 42 watersheds
querying 44 analysis, creating 85
generating an analysis 87
legend, adding 88
V style 86
Vault
setting up 183 X
Vault projects, exporting 199
view frames xrefs
creating 751 labeling Civil drawings 684
viewports
plan production, configuring
for 750

768 | Index

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